A New Love, a New Life
by mrs. briefs997
Summary: "I looked into those pitch black eyes, and was surprised to see that they were full of emotion. Only then did I get the courage to do something I'd been wanting to do since the moment I saw him, and leaned in to let his lips lead me to heaven..." read to find out what happens next!
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfic, so don't be too harsh! Review as often as possible and I hope you guys enjoy this:)**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own dbz!**

"Wake up Mae, you're running late again!" my mother said loudly, my eyelids fluttering open lazily as I fought to wake.

"Huh?" I croaked groggily, squinting and closing my eyes at the bright light coming from my window.

"I said wake up, school's starting in half an hour and you're not even dressed yet," she said impatiently, standing with her arms crossed already fixed up for work.

Her brown hair was styled in its usual braid and she had applied a light coat of red lipstick and mascara.

"Oh, right," I mumbled, jumping off the bed in one swift movement.

We had just moved to Satan City a week ago and it was my first day at Orange Star High. She had gotten promoted to the facility Capsule Corp., which was located in the heart of the city, leaving us no choice but to pack up and leave everything we knew. We lived alone since my father had died when I was just seven from a terrible accident that occurred while he was working in a factory.

"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," she called as she hurried down the stairs.

I grudgingly made my bed and threw on denim skinny jeans, a white tank-top, and a burgundy cardigan. I quickly brushed my teeth and peered at my reflection in the mirror. I thought of myself as average even though my friends back in West City assured me I was very pretty. My hair was a reddish brown that came down to my waist, I had medium length eyelashes, full lips, hazel eyes, and fair skin. My hair was in its usual mess, sticking out in weird directions and slightly frizzy. I hurriedly combed it to the side and let my bangs fall into place. After slipping on my favorite pair of black converse, I ran down the stairs, almost falling on my face in the process.

I quickly picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulders, making sure all my textbooks were inside.

"You ready honey?" my mom asked, grabbing her purse.

"Yeah, just let me grab my lunch," I called from the living room.

I snatched up the brown lunch bag sitting on the counter and stuffed it into my bag. As I hurried out of the kitchen I checked the clock and it read 7:50. "Crap!" I cried.

There were exactly ten minutes left until school started.

I sprinted to our blue hover car and slammed the door behind me, practically yelling at my mother to hurry up and start the engine. Luckily there wasn't much traffic so we made it there in seven minutes.

"Bye mom, love you," I said as I jumped out of the car and raced towards the office. The last thing I wanted to do was get on my new teacher's bad side.

The secretary handed me a paper with my schedule on it and I was relieved to find that my first period class was just two rooms over. I made it in just as the bell rang, and the teacher, Mr. Gordon , introduced me to the class by announcing,"Class, I would like for all of you to meet our new student, Mae Walker."

"Hi," I greeted shyly, slightly biting my lip like I always did when I got nervous. Almost everyone began to speak at once as I stood there awkwardly, trying my best not to blush.

After Mr. Gordon got the class settled he pointed at an empty seat next to a boy with jet black hair. "You'll be sitting next to Son Gohan from now on. Don't worry about your other classes, they all have the same seating arrangement," he said reassuringly.

I was walking towards my seat, happy because I got to sit way in the back, but then I got a better look at my partner. He was the hottest boy I'd ever seen in my life! The wind was knocked out of me as took in his onyx eyes, light skin, slightly spiky black hair, and almost exaggeratedly innocent expression.

"Hey, I'm Gohan," he said with a friendly smile as I neared him. His voice was just as innocent as his face, something I found extremely attractive.

I forced myself to smile back and shakily sat down next to him. I felt such a strong attraction towards him that it was kind of disorienting, like I was in a dream. Confusion clouded my mind as I realized no one had ever made me feel that way before. I'd never been one to believe in fate, but this strange feeling had me thinking otherwise. Great, my first day there and I already had a crush on someone!

"Mae, Mr. Gordon just called on you!" an angelic voice warned, snapping me out of my daze.

"Y-yes!" I called, trying to sound awake.

" Ms. Walker, for future reference, I would like you to pay attention in my class from now on," the teacher said sternly.

"Sorry, I guess I must have been daydreaming- but I promise it won't happen again," I apologized, cursing myself for being stupid and not paying attention.

When he went back to droning on about his lecture, I turned my attention back to Gohan and found my voice.

"Thanks for the heads up" I smiled softly. It was hard to be nervous around someone that looked so innocent and nice.

"No problem," he said, grinning in such a carefree way that I couldn't help but widen my smile.

"So, how long have you been coming here?" I asked casually, trying to get a conversation out of him.

"For a few weeks, maybe a month," he replied, and I couldn't help but notice how shy his voice sounded.

"So, you're kinda new yourself," I prompted.

"I guess I am," he said.

_Damn, he's so hot!_ I thought.

"So, do you live near the school or the city?" I asked.

"Umm... well, I live on Mt. Paozu," he replied uncomfortably.

"What? Isn't that hundreds of miles away?" I cried, looking around to make sure he'd been the only person to hear me. "How do you even get here on time?" I continued, lowering my voice so the teacher wouldn't catch us conversing.

"Well..it's a long story" he replied hesitantly.

"It's okay, I don't mean to pry," I insisted, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

"It's fine," he smiled. "If we get to know each other better, I promise I'll tell you," he added with a soft grin, making my heart flutter.

The bell rung soon after that, signaling the start for second period. We got up and exited the classroom, and I shot a shy look towards the boy walking beside me.

"Is it okay if we walk to chemistry together?" I asked hopefully. I had yet to make any friends except for him and I really didn't feel like walking alone.

"Sure, I don't mind, I was actually about to ask you the same thing," Gohan said, chuckling a little as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Thank you, you're such a gentleman," I grinned. I had a feeling Gohan and I would become great friends, and who knew, maybe even more.

**I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter and I promise I'll update faithfully! Remember to review and I don't mind a little constructive criticism, just no flames. The lack of GohanxOC stories was what drove me to write this story and I hope many more are made. I love all of you and I hope you continue reading!**


	2. Friends

A week had passed since my first day at OSHS, and I already had my group of new friends established. Keiko, Marissa, Siri, Jason, Chris, and of course, Gohan.

I'd met Keiko and Marissa in gym class when we were put on the same volleyball team. They'd been friends since fifth grade, and it turned out they were both excellent volleyball players like me. We became friends instantly, and they had loved Gohan the second they met him. Siri however, was a different story. She was terribly shy when we'd first met in AP calculus. Gohan and I were assigned to do a project with her which required us to meet during lunch and after school.

It'd taken a lot of talking and asking questions, but we had finally made her open up and befriend us. She was really sweet, and surprisingly crazy at times. She'd never had any friends before us, stating she had been too busy focusing on school to have time forming any kind of friendships.

At that time I had felt a little sorry for Gohan since he had to hang out with a bunch of girls, but when I mentioned it to him he laughed it off and told me he didn't mind.

Jason and Chris... well it was pure coincidence really. We hadn't actually met in school at all. I was walking home from school when a speeding car collided with the left side of my body. I had no idea how, but I didn't even get a scratch. Although I couldn't say the same for the car. The entire front was bent beyond recognition, it just looked like a giant heap of red metal. They had both run out to see if I was okay, and ever since then they'd never left my side. They were both funny and cute, but nothing compared to Gohan.

I had to admit, we all got along really well. It was as if we were all meant to be friends. I had never felt so happy in all my life, and I was glad that I finally got a stroke of good luck. But it didn't last for long.

"Psst, Gohan, hey Gohan!" I whispered loudly to my best friend.

"Huh? Oh it's you Mae, what's up?" he asked, also keeping his voice down.

"Can you help me on number 7?" I asked. I didn't want to risk Mrs. Carson hearing me since she was very strict on her no talking policy.

"It's D," he whispered back.

We usually helped each other out when we were stuck on a question or something. It was a thing we'd been doing since day one.

I quickly filled in the bubble and managed a cursory, "Thanks," before moving on to the next question.

I was smart and had good grades, but history was definitely not my subject. It bored the hell out of me to have to listen about how great and wonderful Mr. Satan was because he beat Cell all the time. I'd never really believed it was him since his phony attitude didn't fool me for a second, and I had only been 10 when that happened. Furthermore, the signal had cut off when Cell was fighting the blond boy, and I couldn't help but wonder if it was truly him that defeated Cell. After all, it was Mr. Satan that claimed he was the one that beat him, so I was almost certain it had been the boy.

After the test was over the bell rang, and Gohan and I headed towards our usual table in the middle of the cafeteria.

On my first day a week ago, I had found out a pretty strange thing Gohan and I had in common. We both ate enough to feed the entire senior class and still be hungry. I was almost sure that I was the only person on _earth_ that could do that until he'd come along. Come to think of it, there were a lot of strange things I had noticed about myself over the years.

My strength compared to everyone else was almost ridiculous! In my old school, there wasn't a day that'd go by without me breaking something.

My reflexes, agility, and speed were highly advanced as well; In P.E. no one could even hope to beat me in any of the sports we played.

I ate almost enough to feed an army every day, and I had never gained so much as an ounce of fat. In fact, it did just the opposite! I had well-developed muscles even though I only worked out an hour each day. Thankfully I had learned to control most of my strength by then, so it was rare whenever I slipped up and accidentally broke something.

It was kind of funny to see the looks on our friends' faces every time they saw us eat, although Gohan ate considerably more than me.

"So, how was your field trip to the national art museum?" I asked Siri.

"Oh it was wonderful!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I just loved seeing all those great paintings and sculptures created by the most brilliant artists of all time, especially Picasso," she gushed.

"Hey! Gohan, give me back my hotdog! How can you still be hungry when you already ate all that food?!" Chris protested, chasing Gohan around the table.

"Just let me have it, please?" Gohan begged while holding it high in the air since he was a lot taller than Chris. I had to admit, the face he was making was absolutely adorable.

"Fine, but this is the last time I give you my lunch," he grumbled in defeat. With a triumphant look on his face, Gohan shoved the whole thing in his mouth and burped loudly.

I giggled at his antics along with Keiko and Marissa, while Siri sat there looking disgusted.

"So, Marissa and I were thinking about having a girl's night out Friday with you guys... so we can be away from these clowns for a while," Keiko invited, shaking her head as she watched them argue over who could chug juice the fastest.

"Yes! Please, I'm in need of a vacation from these three!" Siri exclaimed loudly.

Gohan, Jason, and Chris all put on fake hurt expressions that made everyone burst out laughing.

"Well, if you're having a girl's night, then I guess we're gonna have a guy's night and were gonna have much more fun then you!" Jason remarked, a sly smirk appearing on his face.

"Oh yea? Wanna bet..." Siri argued with him for almost the rest of lunch. It was kind of obvious that they had a thing for each other, and even more so because none of them realized that the other felt the same way.

I only wished Gohan felt that way about me too. I had planned to start acting flirty around him to get his attention, but every time I tried I got too nervous and acted like a total idiot. We went outside onto the blacktop and sat down on some benches that were surrounded by rosebushes. "Mmm, I love coming here, it smells so delicious," I told Gohan, who had actually been the one to show me that place a couple of days ago.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he agreed. For some reason that made me remember something he had promised me when we first met.

"Gohan?" I said, trying to get his attention again.

"Yeah?" he answered curiously. He knew me well enough to know what my voice sounded like when something was on my mind.

"Can you show me where you live today?" I asked, looking into those onyx eyes I loved.

He looked like he was having a conflict with himself for a moment before answering," I did promise, didn't I. How about tomorrow after school?" he proposed, raising a brow.

"Really?" I asked hopefully, almost too happy to believe it. I really didn't know why this excited me so much since I was only going to see the beautiful mountain he lived on.

"We should come up with a good excuse first, so that my mother doesn't freak out about me bringing a girl to the house," he added.

I immediately got an idea that I was sure would work. "We can bring Siri with us and work on the project," I suggested, crossing my fingers underneath the table.

For a second a look of what I thought was disappointment crossed his face, but it was quickly replaced by a smile. "Great idea! Go ahead and let her know," he urged, nodding his head towards the doors leading back into the cafeteria. I jumped up, a little bounce in my step at the thought of seeing Gohans' home for the first time. After telling her our plan, she gladly agreed , stating we were a bit behind anyway. So it was settled, tomorrow I would get to see my crush's home and family. No pressure!

**Hi everyone, thanks for coming back and reading the second chapter! This chapter was mostly for getting to know all of Mae's friends and setting up a good foundation for the rest of the story. Don't worry I have tons of ideas for this so it won't be ending any time soon, and don't be afraid to let me know what you want me to do with it. Don't forget to review and if you're like me and are too lazy or tired to review then at least like it or follow it;)**


	3. Chapter 3

"Hurry up Marissa! Gohan and Siri are waiting for me!" I shouted impatiently from outside the bathroom. After P.E., she had begged me to go with her so she wouldn't have to walk alone.

I had to admit, she took what seemed like eons in there.

"If you don't come out in two minutes I'm leaving!" I called, stamping my foot a little. She ran out before the last word was out of my mouth, grabbing my arm.

"I'm done, I'm done. Kami you had me worried there," she breathed.

We went to the back of the school, where I was supposed to meet up with our other two friends. Marissa asked me a question I'd been dreading since the day I met her and Keiko,"You're awfully excited about going to Gohan's house," she stated rather slyly, "It makes me think you might have a crush on him, do you?"

I sighed, licking my lips before answering her. "Maybe, but promise you won't tell anyone! Especially not him."

"I promise," she stated, waving a hand at me, "and don't worry, you can tell Keiko and Siri Friday during our girl's night out," she said, a smile appearing on her face.

That was actually a pretty good idea. "Okay I will. But this conversation never happened because I see them over there," I warned, pointing to the two figures sitting on the back steps.

She smiled knowingly and walked in the opposite direction towards her house saying, "Good luck!"

Before I could respond an angry looking Siri ran up to me and demanded,"Why are you so late?"

"Sorry, Marissa forced me to go to the bathroom with her so she wouldn't have to be alone," I explained, taken aback a little at her tone.

She sighed and shook her head. "We still have a lot of work to do, and if we don't get this project done our grades are toast," she said sadly, her arms drooping at her sides as she pouted.

I hadn't realized how important her grades were to her until then. "I really am sorry, and I promise we'll finish no matter what," I assured her.

She smiled, a little bounce appearing in her step as we continued walking."Well, what are we waiting for?" she exclaimed, grabbing my arm.

Then I remembered about Gohan. I looked around, not seeing any sign of him. "Where's Gohan?"

"Oh he's asleep on a bench over there," she replied, pointing a finger to the figure sitting slightly slumped against the railing.

I smiled to myself before walking over to him, shaking his shoulder. He didn't even move!

It took some effort, but when I said I had food he immediately sprang up and yelled,"Where?"

Siri and I laughed until tears spilled from our eyes, our cheeks hurting from grinning so hard.

"Are you finished?" he asked grumpily, crossing his arms.

"Not yet, just let me catch my breath," I teased, watching a small smile appear on his face.

"You two goofballs ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," Siri and I said at the same time. This had us laughing again and Gohan actually had to bring us water when we started choking.

"You guys are such a handful," he said good-naturally.

"We can go now, I'm fine," I said, taking a deep breath.

"Don't freak out, okay?" Gohan said, looking at both of us seriously.

"I trust you guys enough to show you my secret," he added, rubbing the back of his head.

"Okay, we promise," I said firmly.

What could I expect from a boy who managed to make it to school early when he lived hundreds of miles away? Besides, he wasn't your typical teenage boy on any level.

"Nimbus!" he called loudly, seemingly to no one.

"Um, what's a Nimbus?" I asked curiously, raising a brow.

Just as he was about to answer, a yellow cloud zoomed in toward us from the sky, stopping right in front of him. "That's Nimbus," he replied, smiling uncomfortably.

My jaw fell open in shock as I stared at the fluffy cloud hovering a couple of feet away from me. Siri had the same look on her face as she inspected it more closely.

"I ride it to and from school, it's pretty fast, but it's not that big so it's gonna be a tight squeeze," he continued.

Siri was the first to speak as she said,"No way! Gohan why didn't you tell us sooner, it's amazing!"

His face brightened at her words and he said,"You think so?"

She was right, it was amazing. How he did it, I didn't know, but it was the coolest thing ever!

"Gohan, if I'd known you had a flying cloud I would've forced you to let me ride on it from the day we met!" I cried, checking the thing out.

Relief washed over his face as he said, "Well now's your chance."

He quickly explained how we needed to be pure of a heart to be able to ride it, so of course this made me a little nervous at first.

He insisted I climb on first since I was so excited.

I slowly walked over to the cloud and stepped on gingerly. When I realized I hadn't fallen through the cloud, I smiled happily, urging them to hop on as well. I guess we were all pure of heart because the cloud held us strong and firm.

As we shot up into the air I got a strange sensation in my chest that made me feel elated. I loved the feeling of the wind in my hair, the speed of the cloud as it flew across the sky. It felt utterly perfect, like I was born to fly. I closed my eyes briefly, taking in the sensation for a few moments. It was a different feeling than riding in an airplane. I could feel the sun on my face and see everything below.

Gohan was right about the cloud being fast. Within a few minutes we were out of the city and above a forest. He also looked like he was enjoying the ride, especially since he didn't have to worry about our reactions to his secret however, looked more scared then anything else. She was gripping the edges of the cloud tightly, her eyes were squeezed shut. I bit my lip a little, watching her.

"Are you okay Siri?" I asked softly, my brows furrowed a little in concern.

"Y-Yeah, it's just that the wind makes my eyes sting," she said over her shoulder, her body tense so as not to move a muscle.

That was funny. Gohan and I were completely unaffected by it.

"Do your eyes sting too?" Gohan suddenly asked.

"No, why?" I replied.

He looked intrigued for a moment before saying, "No reason."

It took 20 minutes to arrive at the Son residence, and I had to say, the forest surrounding the little house was beautiful. Huge trees loomed over the abundant greenery, small wild animals appearing around the surrounding area.

"Wow Gohan, this place is breathtaking," I murmured in wonder, not even paying attention as I stepped off the cloud. I vaguely heard Siri grunt as she struggled off the thing, looking back to see her feet finally land on the ground. Her face flushed slightly when she caught me staring, and I shot her a grin.

"I could think of no better place to live," he agreed. I looked over at him, a soft smile playing on my lips.

As he lead us to the clearing where his house sat peacefully, the most adorable little boy I had ever seen in my life came running out the door and into Gohan's arms.

"Brother, you're back!" he laughed happily.

"Yeah Goten, sorry I took so long, I had to wait for friends to arrive at our meeting place," he explained, looking straight at me as he spoke.

I looked down in embarrassment and blushed.

He set the little boy named Goten down and patted him on the head saying, "Meet my best friend Mae and my other friend Siri."

He waved shyly, clutching onto Gohan's leg as he studied us.

I bent down so that our faces were lined up and said, "Hi Goten, nice to meet you."

He smiled adorably and giggled, "You're pretty."

Gohan chuckled nervously and scolded, "Goten, you don't say that to someone you just met."

I picked him up and waved it off like it was no big deal. I mean he was just a child, although the compliment did make me smile.

"Chill Gohan, I don't mind if he calls me pretty. In fact, I'm glad he did because I think he's pretty handsome himself," I said, amused as the little boys' face reddened.

Goten blushed at my words, giving me a bear hug, his arms tight around my neck. "I like her Gohan, she's nice," he told his older brother, who just shook his head and laughed.

"Gohan! What's taking you so long to come in, dinner's almost ready!" a female voice called from inside.

"Coming!" he replied loudly.

I set Goten down and heard a sickly noise.

I turned around just in time to see Siri throw up in a bush.

"Oh God! Siri, are you okay?" I asked worriedly, quickly going to her side and laying a hand on her back.

"I'm fine, it's just a little motion sickness, it'll pass," she said dismissively, waving a hand at me as her head stayed buried in the bush.

"I'll help you in and tell my mom," Gohan said voluntarily.

I rushed to the door and held it open so they could get in.

Someone tugged on my skirt, and I looked down to see Goten staring up at me with wide eyes.

"Does she have a tummy ache?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, but she'll be fine once she lays down," I answered reassuringly.

"I have my doctor's kit in my toy chest, if you want I can get it to help make her feel better," he said in such an irresistible way that I couldn't help but say yes.

He happily ran inside the house to retrieve it, making me laugh softly to myself. It had me wondering if Gohan was like that when he was a kid too. I could instantly tell they were brothers by their same innocence and happy aura. They were both sweet too, not to mention awfully polite.

I entered the house in search of Gohan.

He was busy putting blankets on a protesting Siri while calling what I guessed was his mother's name.

"Mae, please tell Gohan here that I don't need all this attention just because I threw up!" she pleaded.

"Actually, I think you should let your stomach settle before you do any work," I admitted, watching as Gohan attempted to lay the blanket back on her.

"Ugh, you people worry too much," she grumbled, finally sitting still and allowing Gohan to finish wrapping blankets around her.

A woman with black hair tied in a bun rushed into the room. When she saw me and Siri she smiled brightly.

"You must be the friends Gohan was talking all day about yesterday," she said mischievously, looking from me to Siri.

I was the first to respond, "Yes I'm Mae Walker, nice to meet you ma'am."

Her smile widened at my politeness and said, " I'm ChiChi, Gohan's mother."

"I hate to interrupt your conversation, but Siri here just threw up and she needs some help," Gohan reminded her softly.

"Oh yes, let me make you some tea to calm your stomach," she said, already heading for the kitchen, her mannerism brisk. I didn't want to look unhelpful, so I followed her into the kitchen and offered my help.

"Oh no dear it's fine, I won't take more than a few minutes," she insisted, waving a hand at me.

I nodded reluctantly and took a seat at the table.

"Gohan! Come keep Mae company and let your other friend get some rest," she called as she started boiling some water. He walked in after a few seconds and sat beside me.

He opened his mouth to say something before ChiChi cut him off saying, "So Gohan, tell me, is Mae your girlfriend?"

He turned bright red, sputtering a little. "Of course not mom, I just met her!"

I giggled at his embarrassment, my cheeks reddening as well. She observed our reactions for a second before gushing, "Oh I knew you would find a girlfriend quickly, handsome man you are! When are you two getting married?" she asked happily, clasping her hands together. She seemed to have forgotten all about the tea.

"Mom! I told you we're just friends, we're not getting married!" he cried, blushing furiously and avoiding my gaze.

I couldn't help but laugh at the face he was making, it was just so cute!

"I am so, so sorry for my mother's words," he apologized.

I shook my head saying, "I don't mind Gohan, she's just teasing you."

He glared at me comically, his blush gradually beginning to die down.

Did he blush because he liked me back, or was it just embarrassment? There was a whole lot I needed to think about, but I decided to push back those thoughts for later. A sad voice cut through my thoughts and brought me back to reality.

"Mae, I couldn't find my doctor's kit even though I searched the whole house," Goten said in disappointment, his head lowered as he pouted to the floor.

I scooped him up and sat him on my lap, wrapping my arms around his small frame.

"It's okay Goten. Your mommy's making tea for Siri so she can get better," I said in a comforting tone.

"Yay! So she won't be sick anymore?" he asked, shooting a hopeful look towards the living room doorway.

"Nope, she'll be all better," I said. I couldn't believe I'd just met him and I was already getting attached to his sweet innocence.

Just like his brother.

"Yeah, we're finally finished!" I cried triumphantly, letting out a sigh as I slumped a little, exhausted.

"I'm just happy we did a pretty good job," Siri admitted, trying to mask her excitement behind her relief.

It'd taken us hours, but we had finally been able to finish the project after Siri had recovered enough to start.

"I'll take you both home," Gohan said, standing up and stretching his back.

"Great, because I'm ready to crash," I said sleepily, covering a yawn as I stood, copying him and stretching.

The clock read 12:05 a.m.

I took out my cellphone and dialed my mom's number to let her know I was on my way. "Hello? Oh hi mom, I just wanted to tell you I'm on my way home now. Yeah. Okay, love you, bye."

"Siri do your parents know you're coming yet?" I asked, watching as she shoved her own phone back in her pocket.

"Yeah I just called them. They're a bit upset about us finishing so late, but it'll be alright," she replied, waving her hand a little as she stood.

As we walked out the door I waved goodbye to ChiChi and blew a kiss to Goten. He giggled and pretended to catch it in his hand and press it to his face. I laughed, following Gohan to the waiting Nimbus. We squeezed on together and flew up into the sky.

All of that day's tasks had finally caught up to me and I rested my head on someone's lap, too sleepy to care whether it was Siri or Gohan's.

When I woke up I was in somebody's arms, both of us standing in front of my apartment building.

I opened my eyes and turned my head to see that Gohan was the one holding me. My heart skipped a few beats at the feeling of his hot hands gripping my legs and midsection.

"Oh good, you're awake," he said softly, shooting me a soft smile.

I was hyperventilating inside and unable to speak correctly.

"H-how long have I been asleep?" I asked, stuttering as I spoke.

"Oh I don't know, maybe 40 minutes," he replied. Wow, it had felt like a much longer time than that to me.

I tried sitting up and extracting myself from his grip, but he held me firmly and whispered, "Don't, I'll carry you up to your room."

My body melted at the way his voice sounded when he whispered. Sexy, yet gentle. My body was no longer able to move, so I gave in without complaint. He was a lot stronger than he seemed, and was able to carry me throughout the elevator ride and walk to room 367. He gently set me down on my feet and rang the doorbell.

My mom opened the door and smiled when she saw us standing together.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked him nicely, her gaze going from me to my crush.

"No thanks Mrs. Walker, I have to get going so my mother doesn't worry," he explained, bowing slightly.

"Hm that's a shame, how about the next time?" she suggested, eying him curiously.

"Definitely next time," he said with a smile.

"Bye Gohan. Have a safe trip home," I said softly, waving as he started walking away. Smiling that gorgeous smile of his, he waved goodbye and disappeared into the elevator.

**Phew! I'm finally finished! This is the longest chapter I've written so far! Hope you all enjoyed my hard work! Bye, until next time:)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for not updating in more than a week, but I've been really busy with homework:( School sucks, I know. I'm trying a new writing style, so I'll see what you guys think about it in the reviews. Anyway, here's the new chapter so enjoy!**

"Ahh! Chris, stop it! You're getting me soaking wet!" I cried as Chris continued to splash me with water.

Earlier that day the gang and I had decided to spend the day at the beach since it was Jason's birthday. We'd meant for it to be a surprise, but Chris just had to open his big mouth and tell him about it.

I was still a bit mad at him since the whole idea had been mine.

"That's it, it's payback time!" I yelled as I ran into the tide and filled my empty picnic basket with water.

"Wait! I surrender!" he cried, running away at full speed.

"Oh no you don't!" I hollered, taking off after him.

Before he even had time to turn around I was already on top of him, pouring the cold water on his head.

"Hey, no fair! You're the fastest runner in the school!" he complained.

"Whatever, you're just mad because you were tackled by a girl," I teased as I got up.

He glared at me before slowly standing up. "We have a truce, right?" he asked cautiously.

"Sure, it's not you're fault a girl can beat your ass in less than 5 seconds," I said with a smirk.

"You're no normal girl," he retorted, returning my smirk.

Before I could respond I felt someone grip my arm. I whirled around in alarm to find Gohan's face inches from mine.

I quickly pulled back in embarrassment and blushed.

"Sorry Gohan, I didn't know it was you," I apologized sheepishly.

"Oh yeah, um can we talk?" he asked, barley hearing what I said. "In private?" he added, glancing at a drenched Chris.

"Sure," I answered curiously, wondering what in the world was so important that he couldn't say it with Chris there.

He grabbed hold of my arm again and walked away from hearing distance.

"What was that all about?" he asked, catching me off guard. From the seriousness in his expression I'd thought something awful had happened.

"I was getting back at Chris for wetting my brand-new t-shirt," I explained, raising my eyebrows curiously.

"Oh," he replied, barley audible in the roar of a big wave.

"Why couldn't you just ask me that over there?" I pressed.

"No reason," he said.

"Ok...well it's time for Jason to cut his cake, so I'll go tell Chris to get his big mouth over here," I informed him, walking back to Chris.

"Alright, I'll get the girls," he agreed, looking slightly embarrassed.

Hunger won over curiosity and I ignored the nagging feeling that there was more to what had just happened than what Gohan had let on. There was just something about the way he had acted that made me suspicious.

"Siri, can you give me a hand with the candles?" I asked. "Sure, why not," she said, taking the lighter from my hand.

After lighting all 17 candles, she gave me a knowing look. I instantly knew what she meant and followed her away from the others.

"I'm starting to think our plan isn't such a good idea," she said nervously.

The day before we'd had a very long conversation on the phone when she confessed that she was on love with Jason.

We talked and talked about all the things we loved about our crushes and how hot they were. We had even ended up making a plan on how we were going to tell them about our feelings.

Since we'd both wanted to get it over with as soon as possible, we decided that we'd tell them during the party.

"You can't back out now, he needs to know how you feel," I insisted, realizing I didn't want to do it just as much as her.

I was angry at myself for being so scared to tell Gohan that I liked him. I was tired of feeling so weak and powerless when I had tried to tell him in the past.

I didn't want Siri to feel that way at all, she wasn't stupid like that.

"Listen to me Siri, I know how hard it is to tell a guy you like him. But you have to be strong, you can't let fear keep you away from that kind of happiness," I continued.

As I talked I realized those words weren't entirely meant for her. They were meant for me too.

I squeezed her hand reassuringly and said, "Come on, well do this together."

She nodded her head in determination, marching straight towards the table.

"Can we just eat first, I'm starving," I begged. Her jaw fell open and she fell into the sand anime-style.

"You ruined the perfect moment to do this for food?" she cried incredulously.

"Sorry, but if I don't eat right now then I'll faint from hunger," I protested.

_*After a satisfying lunch*_

"Gohan, there's something I've been wanting to tell you since the day we met. I really, really like you, no love you, and I want us to be more than friends," I said, voice filled with emotion.

"Good job, you know, you're pretty convincing when you talk like that" Siri complimented me.

"Ok, it's your turn to practice on me," I urged, feeling restless.

"Alright. Here goes. Jason, I think we should go out 'cuz you're cute," she tried.

It took all the strength I had not to laugh, but eventually I couldn't resist the urge any longer and went into a fit of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Marissa asked, looking at me strangely.

"N-Nothing, I just remembered a funny joke Jason told me in class the other day," I explained, a bit out of breath and teary.

"Right...anyway, what are you guys doing this far away from everyone else?" she asked.

I caught Siri giving me the death stare, so instead of telling the truth I told her we were looking for the bathroom.

I sighed in relief when she left and stared guiltily at the floor. "I'm sorry I laughed at you, that was pretty rude. I just found the way you said it funny," I apologized.

"I don't blame you. That sounded pathetic even to me," she replied.

"You know what? Practicing what we're gonna say is bullshit, when the moment comes, your heart will tell you," I smiled, giving her an encouraging nudge.

"Thanks," she whispered. "I hope you're right, because here they come," she warned, pointing at the moving figures in the distance.

The sight of them made me start to panic like crazy. My forehead was beaded with sweat by the time they reached us.

I put on a strong face for Siri's sake and sucked in my breath.

"H-Hi Gohan, what are you up to?" I asked shakily.

"Um, not much. What are you guys doing over here, we've been looking everywhere for you," he asked.

"Nothing, just chilling," I answered, pulling him aside so we could get some privacy.

I had to do it. It's was then or never.

"I have something to tell you-" Gohan and I said at the same time.

We looked up at each other in surprise and confusion.

"You can go first," Gohan offered, his eyes never leaving mine.

"No I insist, you go ahead talk first," I said with a wave of my hand. A part of me wondered if I was going crazy.

"Well...I wanted to tell you Mae, that since the moment I saw you, I've been in love with you. I didn't know what it was at first because I'd never had such a deep, intense feeling before. You're beauty absolutely mesmerized me. I know everything there is to know about you, from your favorite song to your best friend's name from first grade," he confessed, his dark eyes turning me to jelly.

"You actually listened to all the boring things I talked about?" I asked, filled with shock.

"Of course I did," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

My mind spun with so much emotion, I was surprised the most I could do was stand there frozen in joy.

Pure joy assaulted my heart as my brain slowly processed what Gohan had just told me.

He loved me. He loved me just as much as I loved him.

I looked back into those pitch black eyes, and was surprised to find that they were full of emotion. Only then did I get the courage to do something I'd been wanting to do since the moment I saw him.

I leaned in toward his lips and let them lead me to heaven.

The feeling of his soft lips against mine was indescribable. My heart felt ready to burst from the onslaught of surprise and happiness.

The kiss was short, but sweet.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that," I whispered.

"Oh I think I might," he replied with his sweet, innocent smile.

I was so happy that I lost my composure and jumped up and wrapped my arms around his neck.

He quickly returned my hug and for the fist time since I'd met him, I felt at peace.

It was great to know that I would never have to worry about Gohan's feelings for me ever again.

That thought also made me realize that there was no where else I'd rather be, than here in his arms.


	5. Chapter 5

_Beep beep beep._ As soon as I heard my alarm go off I shot up out of bed in excitement.

Yesterday's events had seemed to go by in a blur after Gohan and I had made it official. We'd decided not to tell anyone until school started today because I had wanted it to be a surprise.

Of course, we weren't the only ones keeping secrets. After kissing Gohan that day, I had gone to check on Siri.

She told me how everything really had fallen into place just like I'd said, and that Jason hadn't hesitated to tell her that he returned her feelings.

I was thrilled at the news and congratulated her happily.

When I told her what happened with Gohan, she squealed and hugged me tight. It had been an unforgettable day for the both of us.

So as I threw on a navy blue tank-top, black leather jacket, blue skinny jeans, and a pair of black combat boots, I felt more excited than ever.

I bumped into my mom on the way down the stairs, yelling out an apology as I reached the kitchen.

A minute later she entered the room looking baffled.

"Mae, since when do you get up on time?" she asked, looking suspicious.

"Um, since today," I tried.

"What's going on?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Nothing, I'm just in a really good mood," I explained, which wasn't a complete lie.

She didn't look totally convinced, but she let it go.

Once I arrived at school I went over to our meeting place by the rosebushes.

Gohan was sitting on the bench by himself, looking as hot as ever.

"Hey," I greeted. He looked up in alarm and smiled when he saw it was me.

"Hi beautiful," he returned, making my heart pump even faster.

"You sure did get here early," he observed.

"That's because I wanted to see you," I said as I took a seat next to him. I'd known him for a few months and I was still waiting for the day when his beautiful eyes would fail to make me swoon.

He sat there staring at me quietly for a while before whispering, "I still have a hard time believing that you're real, that this isn't just some wonderful dream I'm having."

I almost died on the spot as he spoke. I had never thought I was particularly beautiful in any way, so what he said surprised me.

Sure a couple of guys had asked me out in the past, but I had never been the center of attention. But Gohan, well he was a completely different story.

Every time he passed by a group of girls I would see them giggling and blushing, some even going as far as asking him to walk them to class.

Of course he'd rejected them all, but I couldn't help but feeling extremely jealous every time that happened.

Siri's voice brought me back to earth as she skipped over to us.

"Oh sorry, am I interrupting you guys?" she asked teasingly.

"Hey Siri," Gohan waved, resting his arm around my shoulders. His touch sent shockwaves throughout my whole body, leaving me breathless.

"Where's Jason?" I inquired, trying to keep my mind distracted from his arm.

"Right here!" he hollered behind me, making me jump up in fright.

"What the hell Jason, you scared the crap out of me!" I yelled.

He laughed in response and walked toward his girlfriend.

"How long were you hiding there?" I continued, trying to calm down.

"Oh I don't know, a minute maybe?" he answered.

Good, so he hadn't heard us talking earlier.

I shook my head and sat back down. "Calm your boyfriend down Siri, before he gets punched in the face," I said with a huff.

She laughed and took his hand. "Nah, I wouldn't change a thing about him," she said, fondly caressing his thick, curly hair.

I looked away as he pulled her face to his and kissed her.

I wondered how many times they'd done that so far. Gohan and I had only kissed that one time, and I had to say I was hungry for more.

Besides, ours had been cute and short, while they were full on making out. How could they have gone from being too shy to tell each other their feelings, to making out in public in such a short amount of time?

After what had seemed like an eternity, they finished and I could finally look at them without feeling like an invasion to their privacy.

"I'll be right back Gohan, I'm just gonna go talk to Siri," I excused myself as I stood up.

"Don't take too long, you don't want to keep your boyfriend waiting," Jason teased as I took Siri from him.

I gave him the finger as we walked away, earning a satisfied smirk from him.

"Since when we're you guys so intimate?" I asked curiously.

"Well, after we all went home from the beach I decided to meet up with him at the park. One thing led to another, and we became very attached," she replied.

"In just one day?" I asked in disbelief.

"Pretty much," she nodded.

"I'm happy for you," I smiled sincerely. In truth I was, but I was also jealous of her.

I envied how easily they communicated, how simple it was for them to show their love for one another. I knew Gohan and I had something powerful, something that I doubted any other couple was capable of.

The only problem was I couldn't even make skin-to-skin contact with him without having a heart attack. I needed to learn how to control my feelings so I could do things like kissing him easily.

Throughout all of the first three periods of the day I thought about a way to do that. I couldn't even concentrate on the chemistry test I had second period.

"Mae watch out!" I heard someone yell before I fell into a mud puddle on my way to the cafeteria. My clothes ended up completely caked in mud, and I had scraped my arm on the way down.

I heard quick footsteps approach me, and felt myself getting lifted up by strong arms. Black patches of light obscured my view, and a faraway voice kept telling me to snap out of it.

After a few minutes my vision cleared up and I forced myself to sit up. Gohan's concerned face was the first thing I saw as I righted myself.

"What happened?" I asked weakly after the dizziness in my head started to fade.

"You tripped over that tree root over there and fell face-first into a pile of mud," he replied softly.

"I tried to warn you but you seemed to be distracted by something. I'm sorry I was too late, I promise I won't ever let you get hurt like that again," he swore firmly, his face displaying pain.

Why did he look so miserable? I had only fallen and scratched my arm, it was no big deal. But I had a feeling there was something else, something he wasn't telling me.

"Gohan I'm fine, really, you don't have to beat yourself up over this," I assured him.

"No, you don't understand. If I hadn't kept this from you then you wouldn't have gotten hurt. Why do I have to be so selfish? You are much more important to me than some stupid secret," he said, frustrated.

"Besides, look at your forehead, it's gushing blood," he pointed out.

"Really?" I cried, touching my forehead only to fill my fingers with blood.

"I didn't even notice," I said.

He lifted me up into his arms and started walking towards the nurse's office. "Come on, you need to get that patched up."

After wrapping the top of my head in a bandage and giving me aspirin, the nurse left me and Gohan alone in the small room.

I was still trying to figure out what he'd meant by saying I was more important than a secret when he moved his face so that his lips were inches from mine.

My body started losing control right away, but I couldn't bring myself to move. I tried focusing on his facial features to distract myself from his closeness, and noticed

his eyes were smoldering and sad. Then it stopped.

All the nervousness disappeared from my body. He was in pain, and I wanted to take it away as quickly as possible.

It was no longer about me, it was about him. I hated seeing him that way, burning inside just because of a little blood. I closed the space between us and pressed my lips against his.

He was unresponsive for a few seconds before kissing me back, crushing his lips against mine. My heart accelerated in a good way, making me increase the speed of my lips.

I opened my mouth and allowed his tongue to slip in. I didn't waste a moment before curling it around his.

My head spun as our tongues danced, trying to control the amazing sensation I was getting from the kiss. I bowed my body against his, wanting to get as close as I could. I had no idea how I was ever going to stop. His lips were my drug, and I was hooked.

I moved my hands to my shirt, but before I could even lift the tight cloth his hands stopped me. Gohan broke away and leaned his forehead against the part of mine that wasn't cut.

"Not now," he whispered gently into my ear. "I don't want to hurt you."

For the hundredth time that day, my mind was plagued with confusion.

"How could you hurt me?" I asked. He wasn't making any sense.

First he was hating himself for letting me fall and then he was saying he'd hurt me. It hurt my head just to try and figure it out.

"I'm going to tell you something I should've told you a long time ago," he said seriously.

I nodded in confusion and laid my head on his chest.

"You see, I'm not entirely human. My mother is human, but my father comes from a distant planet called Vegeta. It was destroyed when he was just an infant by an evil tyrant named Frieza. The planet's inhabitants were called saiyans, and they were incredibly strong beings. The explosion killed everyone but my father, our friend Vegeta, his brother Raditz, and Vegeta's partner Nappa. All of them except for Vegeta are dead, including my father. We've fought many evil foes, including Cell."

As soon as he said they'd fought Cell I recognized who he was.

"You're that boy with the glowing yellow hair that was with a bunch of other fighters the day of the Cell Games," I exclaimed.

He nodded and looked down. "Doesn't that make you the Golden Fighter too?" I continued.

"Him and Saiyaman," he admitted.

I didn't know what to say. There was one thing I was sure of though, he was telling the truth.

Everything he had told me about planet Vegeta and the saiyans had sounded vaguely familiar. It was like an old, fuzzy memory buried somewhere deep in my memory. I was sure that someone else had told me a similar story a long time ago, I just couldn't remember who.

Thinking about it made the pain in my head get a lot worse, so I tried clearing my mind, although I did have one last question for him. "Hercule didn't defeat Cell, you did, didn't you?"

"Yes, and it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. But having to say goodbye to my father forever was far worse. He sacrificed himself for the planet, and we all owe him our lives," he replied sadly.

I realized just how much I hated seeing him that way, broken down and sad. I embraced him tightly and kissed his cheek.

"I don't blame you for trying to keep your identity a secret, but I want you to know that you can tell me anything and everything. Even if you think it will upset me, I need to know everything that goes on," I said.

He nodded and helped me out the door. "You never fail to make me fall harder for you," he whispered, curling his arm around my waist. But that time, my heart didn't feel like it would jump out of my chest.

**I hope you all liked it and don't forget to review!**


	6. Chapter 6

I heard the phone ring for the third time before I stood up to answer it.

It was a Friday night and I had just gotten home. Gohan had had to take me with him when some idiots had tried to rob a bank right after school. It was amazing to see him dodge bullets like they were nothing, even if his poses were a bit goofy.

After the incident we went to an ice cream shop and walked to the park, where we found Marissa and Keiko. To make a long story short, it had been an eventful afternoon.

As I picked up the phone I regretted not having left sooner, choosing to stay until 8:00 in the evening. "Hello?" I answered tiredly, wishing I was back in my warm bed.

"Mae? Hi, I just wanted to know if I could come over right now, I have something I want to tell you," said Gohan, sounding as cute as ever.

"Yes of course, in fact, my mom's on a business trip right now and she won't be back for a few weeks," I replied enthusiastically, my heart jumping at the thought of Gohan and I alone in my apartment.

"Great, can you open the door, I'm already outside," he said.

I shook my head and smiled. It was just like him to come before he called so he'd have an excuse to come anyway.

I walked to the door and pretended to be upset. "Did you really have to do that? I mean how rude is it to arrive at my doorstep and call when you're already here?" I demanded, barley being able to keep my cool.

He looked at the floor in embarrassment and mumbled, "I'm sorry, I didn't think it would upset you."

I couldn't hold it any longer and went into a laughing fit. "I'm joking, how could I not want you here?" I managed after catching my breath.

He glared at me playfully, a suspicious smile tugging at his lips. "I know just how to get you back," he warned, closing the door behind him.

He took my hand and sat me down on the couch, smirking to himself. Before I knew it he pulled me on top of him, crushing our bodies together in a way that made me shiver.

His lips pushed up against mine, bombarding my heart with electrical pulses. He was right, that was the perfect way to get back at me. There was nothing on this planet that made me feel so nervous, so weak.

I kissed him back as hard as I could, hoping he felt just as vulnerable as I did when we made out.

A couple of minutes later I broke away, gasping for air as my head spun. Grinning triumphantly, Gohan whispered, "How'd that feel?"

I blushed, imagining his reaction if I told him how much pleasure I got out of a simple kiss.

"So what did you come here to tell me?" I asked, wanting to steer his attention away from my wild reactions.

His face instantly darkened at my words. "I was hoping you'd forget," he said. "I've been studying your behavior lately, and with the help of some friends, I've discovered something about your past you may want to know," he said finally.

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion. Why did he always seem to have some secret that I didn't know about?

"Please know that everything I'm about to tell you is nothing but the truth," he said, clasping my hands between his. I nodded silently, expecting the worst.

"You're a saiyan. In fact, I suspect you're a hybrid like me," he revealed slowly.

My first instinct was to laugh at the ridiculousness of his words, but as I thought about it a blurry memory of my father appeared in my mind. Then it clicked. That mysterious tugging of my memory had something to do with saiyans and my dad.

There was something he told me little before he died that was suddenly made obvious to me. I remembered it clearly, he had taken my head in his hands and said, "Mae, you are a very special girl. Don't ever forget that. Someday you will find out about where I come from and how all of it affects you. I'm afraid we don't have much time left together, so I need you to know that I love you more than anyone in the universe."

I couldn't remember how that conversation had ended, but I was sure that he'd been trying to tell me I was a saiyan. At the time I hadn't understood what he meant by saying he'd have to leave soon, but then I realized he'd known his death was coming all along.

Those memories did nothing but puzzle me even more, so I decided to take it one step at a time and confront the issue at hand.

Gohan had waited patiently throughout my whole thought process, for which I was grateful. "I think you're right, I faintly recall my father trying to tell me something along those lines right before he died," I admitted, trying to keep calm.

"Wow, you really surprised me Mae, I thought you were going to freak out or start laughing. I'll give you some time to let it sink in," he said, gently shifting his position so he could stand up.

"No! Don't leave, that's the last thing I need," I protested, locking on to his arm.

He looked baffled for a second before sitting back down. "Are you sure you don't want some alone time?" he asked hesitantly.

I kissed him both in response, and wanting to provide a distraction for myself. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, and yet there were so many that couldn't be answered. Why hadn't my mother ever told me about any of that? How had my father known he was going to die? How did Gohan figure out I was one of them? All of my questions would be answered eventually, but right then I found myself wanting Gohan more than anything.

It was like finding out my true race had turned something on inside of me. A thirst that could not be quenched, a hunger that could not be filled.

We opened our eyes at the same time, staring deeply into each other. "Do you want me as much as I want you right now?" he asked before I could.

"So much that I'm surprised I still have some self-control," I whispered seductively, curling my legs around his midsection.

That seemed to do the trick. It was like I had triggered some instinct that turned him into a completely different person. The innocent, gentle Gohan I knew was gone, replaced by a sex hungry tease.

Before he could slip off my shirt, I stopped his hands. "Let's go to my room, I'd rather be on my bed than on the couch."

He smirked in amusement and led our way to the best night of my life.

**I know this wasn't one of the longer chapters, but I decided I needed to update again soon. For all my naughty readers out there, I will be posting a separate story that tells about Gohan and Mae's eventful night sometime this week, and it will be rated M. (It will not be a part of this story and won't affect the plot in any way, it's just for fun;) )**


	7. Chapter 7

I woke up in the morning feeling sore. At first I had no idea where the soreness came from, but as I sat up I saw Gohan sound asleep next to me.

As I watched him snore lightly, the previous night's events replayed in my mind. The innocence on his face compared to his behavior the night before was almost ludicrous. He looked more innocent than a baby, mouth open with a bit of drool on his cheek.

I suddenly became self-concious and looked into the blue hand mirror I had on my bedside stand. Relief washed over me when I saw that my hair was uncharacteristically pretty and soft.

I felt Gohan stir before he woke up with a start. "Huh? Where am I?"

I smiled to myself before replying,"You're in my room silly."

His head snapped in my direction as he heard me speak. "Oh, right. Um...how do you feel? Are you in pain? Did I hurt you?"

I laughed at his concern and said,"I'm fine, just feeling a little sore."

He looked down in relief and asked,"Was that really me last night?"

"Yeah. You surprised me too," I admitted, leaning my head on his shoulder. There was nothing I enjoyed more the the heat that radiated from his body, it made me feel warm and safe.

"I love you," I whispered into his chest, earning a tight hug.

"I love you more."

"Hurry before we're late!" I called to Gohan as I threw on random clothes.

He'd decided to take a shower at the last minute, and school started in half an hour.

"Done," he announced, appearing next to me out of nowhere in nothing but a towel.

I tried to ignore the fact that his bare chest fired up my lust, making me hungry for his body. "Go put some clothes on, you're driving me crazy!" I commanded, looking away in fear of the strange feeling I had yesterday returning.

He silently complied, slipping on his school clothes.

We decided to take my car to school since Nimbus was a bit too conspicuous. As I drove us to the parking lot, I remembered what Gohan had revealed to me about my heritage.

It was a lot to take in, and I decided that the first thing I'd do when my mom came back in a few weeks would be to confront her about my father. I couldn't help but wonder if she'd known about the saiyans and planet Vegeta this whole time and hadn't told me.

The thought made me feel like I'd been betrayed by her, that somehow everything had been her fault. All of those years I'd been thinking I was some kind of freak because of my unusual strength and speed, and she had never said one word about it.

"Mae, the light's green now," Gohan said, nudging my arm.

"Oh shit!" I exclaimed, slamming on the gas pedal, making the blue hover car lurch forward.

"Calm down Mae, you could end up hurting someone, or worse, you could end up hurting yourself," he warned, concerned.

I gave him a look, making sure the message that that clearly wasn't going to happen got through. He shook his head and looked away, chuckling.

As parked in the closest spot to the school, he got out of the car only to open the door for me half a second later.

"How do you do that?" I asked with wide eyes.

"Years of tough training and persistence," he replied, smirking.

"Can you teach me how to fight like you?" I blurted, instantly blushing. After seeing him fight as Saiyaman, I had gotten a very strong desire to be able to move as quickly and powerfully as him.

He seemed to ponder my request for the slightest moment before answering,"Well I'm a llittle rusty since the earth 's been at peace for a while now, but I definitely like the idea of teaching you how to defend yourself."

Wow. It had always been a dream of mine to become something special, something out of this world, and there I was, with the boy I loved agreeing to train me to become as amazing as him.

"Oh my Kami I love you! I promise I'll try harder than I've ever tried at anything before!" I squealed in excitement, crushing him in a bear hug.

"Its nothing really, I just want you to be safer, I don't know what'd I'd do if I ever lost you," he explained, holding me closer to him as he spoke.

He was just so perfect. How I ended up with him I would never know, but I was eternally grateful for it. He loved me way more than humanly possible, it only made sense he wasn't completely human.

We walked hand-in-hand toward our favorite bench surrounded by colorful rosebushes, finding the rest of the gang already laughing and talking.

"Well, if it isn't the two lovebirds finally deciding to show themselves," Keiko smiled as she saw Gohan and I near them.

"Hey," I greeted, waving awkwardly.

"Hi!" Chris exclaimed, popping up in between us. I gave him the death stare, making him obediently step out of our way.

Everyone laughed at our reactions, including Gohan.

"If I wasn't in the middle of something, I would've gone over there and taught you a lesson by know," I glared.

"Fine, go back to your make-out session with Gohan, just do it somewhere people won't be able to see, some of us have sensitive stomachs," he teased, starting to piss me off.

"We were hugging not making out, but I guess you wouldn't know the difference since you've never had a girlfriend," I retaliated.

He raised his right eyebrow, about to say something before deciding against it.

"Want to sit down?" Gohan asked, gesturing toward the bench.

"Sure, I want to talk to the girls anyway."

I took a seat between Keiko and Marissa, not wanting to interrupt Jason and Siri, who were in he middle of cuddling.

"What happened? I know something happened so don't try lying to me," Marissa warned excitedly, leaning closer so she wouldn't miss a word.

"Nothing. Gohan came over yesterday after I left and we talked for a while," I lied, hoping she would believe me.

"You're lying, I just know you are. Tell me the truth before I beat it out of you," she demanded.

Of course she wouldn't.

"Well he did come over, but...he didn't exactly leave afterward," I replied hesitantly, trying to clue them in without actually having to say it.

Keiko was quick to understand, staring at me with a shocked expression. "No way! Not Gohan, I could never see him doing anything like that!"she cried, impressed.

"There's more to him than he let on," I agreed, fumbling with my bracelet.

"I'm not getting it," Marissa complained, a little crease forming on her brow.

Keiko rolled her eyes and signaled for her to lean in, whispering the news into her best friend's ear.

"Oh! Wow I can't believe he'd actually do that."

"Sorry I didn't get it before, I feel stupid now," she apologized, cheeks flushing with color.

"Let's tell Siri," Keiko suggested.

"Does she look like she's going to be finished any time soon to you?" I pointed out.

"Yeah, you should just tell her some other time," she agreed after taking a look at her.

The bell rang a few minutes later, signaling the start of first period. "C'mon Gohan, I want to get there early so I can talk to the teacher," I said, reaching out my hand so he could take it.

As I talked to , I noticed Gohan talking to a girl. As I observed more closely I realized that girl was none other than Videl Satan.

What the hell was she doing talking to my boyfriend?

I turned back to the teacher and brushed it off, thinking she wanted him to let her copy his homework or something.

When I headed toward the back of the large classroom, I saw she had claimed my seat next to Gohan and was deep in conversation with him. Seeing that pissed me off. If there was one thing I had inherited from my saiyan side of the family, it was my short temper.

"Excuse me, you're sitting in my seat," I said, clearing my throat.

She tilted her head to look at me for a moment before going back to her conversation. There was no way in hell I'd let her get away with that.

"What the hell is your problem, I said move," I said louder, getting her attention.

"Who the hell gave you permission to talk to me like that?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes.

"I did, now get the fuck out of my way before I make you sorry that you ever sat here and talked to Gohan," I replied menacingly, my patience running thin.

"Was that a challenge?" she asked, smirking. "Because you don't look like much."

I was about to swing at her face before Gohan's voice stopped me. "Hey, Mae it's ok, Videl was just talking to me about something important, she didn't mean any offense."

My ass. She had just insulted me in front of him and he still defended her, making me angry at both of them.

"Besides, what difference does it make if you sit here or somewhere else?" she asked.

"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that Gohan's my boyfriend and I want to sit next to him," I answered sarcastically.

She looked surprised at my words, her face twisted in confusion. For once she didn't have that arrogant expression.

"You're dating her?" she asked him, unsure whether to believe me or not.

"Yes, it's been a week now actually," he replied.

She frowned slightly before getting up and taking her backpack.

"This conversation isn't over," she said as she walked toward her seat. I didn't know if she was talking to me or Gohan, possibly both of us.

"I'm sorry about that, she isn't as nice as they make her out to be huh?" he apologized, wrapping a strand of my red hair around his finger.

I pulled my hair from him and pretended to be listening to another lecture about .

"Wait a minute, are you mad at me?" he asked.

I continued to ignore him, simply staring at the chalkboard in the front of the class.

He huffed out a breath before picking me up and forcing me to look at him. "I promise there's nothing going on with me and Videl, I'll tell you what we were talking about when we get out of class."

"Gohan, put me down! Everyone is gonna see!" I warned, trying to break his grip.

"Let them," he said, his face coming an awful lot closer.

"Gohan wait-" I was interrupted mid-sentence by his kiss. Unlike many of our other kisses, that one had been soft and gentle.

I wouldn't have admitted it then, but it was one of the best kisses I'd ever had. He seemed to enjoy it as well, and I thought I knew why.

Unlike all the other times Gohan had been completely in control of himself, making the soft movement of his lips against mine more genuine.

To my relief, only a couple of people had seen us, but then I realized that Videl's best friend Erasa was one of them.

Great, that was just what I needed, the school gossip knowing about it.

"Hey Videl, you won't believe what I just saw, Gohan and that new girl were like totally making out back there!" I heard her say.

No! She was already telling people about it!

"See what happens when you try to kiss someone in the middle of class?" I complained, playfully smacking his shoulder.

He smiled in amusement and turned back to his notes.

As the class ended I saw Videl eyeing me nastily. What was with her?

"Gohan, now will you tell me about your issue with Videl?" I asked, pouting.

"How can I resist a face like that?" he said, linking hands with me.

I smiled up at him, blushing slightly.

"The other day I was on my way to school from an early crime, so I went to the rooftop to change. But when I clicked the button on my watch, she saw me get out of my Saiyaman costume. So she walked up to me and demanded I told her what was going on. After I explained the whole thing to her, she blackmailed me and said if I didn't teach her how to fly and fight in the upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament, then she would tell everyone my real identity."

His story made me like her even less, and I had this gnawing feeling inside of me to show her just how weak she really was.

"Don't. Don't do anything she tells you. I'll handle her so that you can teach me how to fight in the tournament" I commanded fiercely, surprising even myself. I didn't know the first thing about fighting, and yet there I was begging him to take me to the World Martial Arts Tournament.

"I have to or she'll tell everyone. Even if you beat her up she'll still spread the word," he cautioned, making me realize he was right. The only way I could settle my score with her was if we both fought in the tournament.

"Fine, but I still want you to train me," I grumbled.

"Of course, anything to make you happy," he smiled, nuzzing my nose with his.

"Haha, stop it, I'm really ticklish!" I protested, trying to run away from him. He caught up to me right away, plucking me up into the air. He spun me around in his arms and placed me on his back.

"Can I give you a piggy-back ride to art class?" he asked, innocent face forcing me to give in.

"Ok, just don't go to fast!"

As soon as those words left my mouth he took off at an amazing speed. We got to class in a split second, laughing good-naturedly as he screeched to a stop.

"I said not too fast!" I cried, gently pushing his chest.

"I never promised anything!" he said in defense, smiling playfully.

I shook my head and grabbed both of his hands. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Kiss me," he replied, tilting my chin towards his face. I released his hands and let my fingers run throughout his hair as he kissed me just as gently as before. It baffled me to think that somehow whenever he kissed me while he was in control of himself, I enjoyed it more.

Even when his tongue slipped into my mouth and danced with mine, the feeling of the kiss was more thrilling. My fingers tightened their grip on his hair, making me pull on it a bit harder than I'd intended to.

The loud bell warning that second period had started was enough to make us come back up for air.

"Come one let's go, we're already late!" I urged, running into the art room with a startled Gohan in tow.

The rest of the day had gone by in a blur, and before I knew it it was lunchtime.

"Are you sure you're not still hungry?"

"Yes, for the hundredth time Gohan, you go ahead and finish your lunch, I'm not hungry anymore," I insisted, giving him back his sushi.

"Aww, you're so cute with each other!" Marissa cooed, making kissy faces at us.

Gohan beamed while I stared at her grimly. It was just too easy to tease Gohan because of his naive nature.

"Really? I hate it when you take advantage of his innocence like that," I admitted, scooting closer to him.

"Relax Mae, I'm just fooling around, besides you guys really are cute," she said, winking.

"What do you plan to give her for Valentine's Day Gohan?"

"It's a secret," he winked, stealing a glance at the door.

I had completely forgotten that it was Valentine's Day, mostly because of what had happened the night before.

"Can you come with me? I need to show you something," he said, holding out his arm. Right, he probably needed to tell me something about Videl.

"Can't it wait?" I asked a bit rudely. I was not in the mood to talk about that bitch.

He looked a bit bothered before replying, "C'mon, I know you'll love it."

Why did he have to lie about it so obviously? What was there to show me? His report card?

"Look Gohan, if you have something you need to tell me then just say it," I snapped, earning raised eyebrows from everyone else at the table.

His hurt expression was enough to make me realize he wasn't lying. I immediately regretted talking to him like that. Why was I such an idiot? He was just trying to show me something and I was acting like a bitch. He had never done anything to hurt me, and there I was talking to him like he was some kind of stranger.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it. Please don't get mad at me!" I pleaded, but he just ignored me, walking in the opposite direction.

Damn it! Why did I have to go and screw everything up! I was finally dating the boy of my dreams and I was treating him like crap.

"Gohan wait!" I called, taking off after him.

He stopped walking once we were on the black-top but didn't turn around.

"I'm really, really sorry Gohan. I understand if you hate me right now, but please turn around," I begged, feeling the tears closing in.

"If you don't want to be with me, then just tell me. It's better to let me know than to just toy with my feelings," he said, his face expressionless.

"What?" I asked, jaw agape. Where did he get the idea that I didn't want to be with him? He was my life! Without him there would be no point in living.

"Who in the world told you I don't want to be your girlfriend anymore?" I cried.

"No one had to tell me anything. I can tell by the way you throw yourself at me all the time," he answered sarcastically.

"I want you to know that I would never dream of breaking up with you in a million years, and I couldn't be forced to either because I so love you so much I'd rather die. You are the person that keeps me going every day. I love coming to school every morning and seeing your bright smile. I love your kind and gentle nature. I love the way you make me feel every time you touch me. I love you Gohan, and I need you in order to survive. So just in case you're still doubting my love for you, here's a demonstration."

With that I leaned against the wall and pulled his face to mine. He didn't kiss me back at first, but he gradually gave in and held my waist in his hands, lips crushing mine.

I closed the small space between us and pressed his body against mine, resting my hands on his neck. He freed my lips only to move down to my jaw. I once again felt breathless as the strange hungry sensation failed to overcome me that time.

Once he got to my neck I noticed a few people were exiting the cafeteria and headed toward their usual hangouts.

"Gohan, I think we should continue this later, people are starting to see us," I said, softly brushing my hand across his cheek.

He turned his gaze toward me and stopped. "How come you care if other people see us? That's one of the things that helped convince me about your true intentions."

"Look, I don't care what other people think about us. I just don't want our intimate moments to be out in the open for everyone to see. I want these special moments to be for only you and me."

His face relaxed a little and he released his tight grip on my waist. "I never thought of it that way. Then again, you're the only one I notice when you're in the same place as me," he whispered, allowing me to move away from the wall.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you earlier, it wasn't intentional. I just thought you actually wanted to to tell me me something about Videl instead of showing me something," I explained.

He smiled a crooked smile and said, "I forgive you beautiful."

I looked at the floor and blushed. He was too kind. I felt as if I didn't deserve him more than ever.

"Speaking of which, I still haven't shown you your Valentine's Day present," he piped.

"Close your eyes, and I'll guide you toward it," he instructed, moving behind me and lightly pushing on the small of my back. I giggled as I shut my eyelids and let him direct me to wherever he was planning on taking me.

I let out a small gasp as I felt my feet leave the floor and slowly rise into the air. "Gohan where are we going?"

He remained silent for a few seconds before we touched down on what I guessed was cement.

"You can go ahead and open them now," he said.

My eyes flew open in excitement, wanting to see what he had gotten for me. "Wow! How did you do this? It's amazing!" I marvelled as I started at the beautiful sight before me.

We were on an old rooftop garden at the school, but it was filled with different colored flowers. Together they formed a huge heart with words in the middle that read, " I love you Mae!"

"This is the sweetest thing ever, I love it!" I cried, jumping on top of him.

"I knew you would," he smiled, kissing me.

**I've been wanting to make the chapters longer for a while, and I finally did it! I decided it was time to give Gohan and Mae their first argument, and I'm happy to say I like how it turned out. Thanks for reading and review!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey slow down, there's no need to rush! We've got all day," a startled Gohan protested as I dragged him to the car at full speed.

We'd made plans the day before to start my training that weekend, and I couldn't wait to get started. Never mind how amazing Gohan's abilities were, just watching him fight made me feel incredibly thrilled.

"I want to learn as much as possible before the tournament begins," I insisted, hopping into the driver's seat.

"If that's what you want."

I lost control of the car three times during the drive to an abandoned park that Gohan had insisted we train at. It was hard to concentrate on driving when all I could think about was how I'd be able to fight like him at last.

The old park was pretty run down, with trash scattered across the dry grass and an old, rusty slide in the far corner.

"Are you joking? How do you expect us to get anything done here?" I cried, kicking an empty soda can across the cracked road.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I wanted to train you someplace where there weren't other people we could harm," he said, looking around with a skeptical look on his face.

"Then why don't you just train me at Mt. Paozu?" I exclaimed. Sometimes his stupidity surprised even me. It was funny how he could be so smart in school but absolutely clueless in life.

A kind of embarrassed look appeared on his face as he mumbled, "Right, I was just about to suggest that."

How did he manage to look so breath taking even when he was embarrassed? However he did it, it wasn't fair.

"It's fine, we can just take Nimbus from here," I said, smiling.

His lips jerked up crookedly in a half-smile, making me tingle all over. "Why do you have to have such a cute smile? It really isn't fair."

"Why do you have to have such a beautiful face?" he prodded, touching my cheek with the back of his hand.

I shook my head and laid it on his shoulder, having to strain my neck in order to reach it.

"Are we going or what?" I asked lightly.

"Oh, right."

He looked around before yelling,"Nimbus!"

The yellow cloud came speeding from the sky a few seconds later, stopping just in front of him. "Hop on Mae," he said, patting the spot behind him.

I climbed on with ease, securing my hands on either side of his waist.

The ride was just as thrilling as the first time, its speed exhilarating. It felt wonderful to be up in the air again, the wind blowing my hair in different directions. I wished I could have stayed up there forever, frozen in time.

"We're here," Gohan announced, bringing us down as he spoke.

His home jumped into view as we neared the ground, smoke emitting from the chimney.

"Why'd you bring us to your house? Wouldn't it be better if we trained out in the wilderness?" I wondered aloud.

"That's the plan," he responded.

I looked at him, confused.

"But let's eat first, I'm starving!"

I fell over anime-style, sighing to myself. He just had to be a saiyan.

"Need some help?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"I'm good," I said with a shake of my head, jumping off the soft cloud.

He opened the door and led me to the kitchen where his mother was cooking what looked like chicken.

"Hi Ms. Son," I greeted, smiling at the raven-haired woman.

"Oh, well hello there Mae, how unexpected of you to visit. Gohan told me he was going to to train you somewhere else, but I guess he changed his mind."

"Yeah, sorry about that, his decision was kind of last minute."

"Gohan should be the one apologizing, after all it was his idea to train you in that old park. Anyway, how's your mother? Is she back from her business trip yet?" she asked, stirring something into a bowl.

"She's still over in West City, so I haven't heard much from her," I replied, fidgeting with a loose string on my blue t-shirt.

"Oh, well when you get the chance say hello for me."

I nodded and wandered over to the refrigerator, where Gohan was eagerly scarfing down everything in sight.

Despite her sometimes stormy personality, I really liked ChiChi. She was very protective of Gohan, which pleased me. Even though half of the things she said were shouted, she was very loving and kind. She never failed to offer me things like food and water, so had a feeling she liked me too.

"Go, where's your brother?" I asked, using the nickname I had made up for Gohan a couple of days before.

"Probably in his room playing with Trunks," he said, his mouth full.

I laughed at the sight, even though it was sort of hot.

"Who's Trunks?" I questioned after the laughter subsided.

"Goten's best friend." I didn't even know Goten had friends, after all, he had been homeschooled all his life.

"I'm gonna go find him," I said, walking towards Goten's room.

He was my second favorite person in the world. I already considered him my brother, despite my only meeting him a few times. I adored the way he acted so happy and carefree all the time. Something told me Gohan had been that exact way when he was about his age.

"Goten, it's Mae, open up!" I called as I knocked on his door, hearing laughter.

After a couple of bangs and muffled giggles, the door flew open to reveal him staring up at me with a smile.

"Mae! I'm so happy you came, now you can play with Trunks too!" he grinned, throwing his arms up in a hug.

Not only was his innocence to die for, he had the most adorable face in the universe!

"Sure, can I come in?"

"Yeah! Come on, I want to show you all my toys," he said, pulling me in.

Leaning on the white wall beside his bed was a boy with lavender hair and blue eyes that looked strangely familiar. He was looking at me with a smirk and his eyebrows raised.

"This is your brother's girlfriend Goten? How was he able to land her? She's way prettier than he made her out to be," he smirked, making me blush.

How could a kid that was no older than eight talk like he was twenty-five? I could already tell he'd been raised to have a superior attitude, the way he carried himself made that clear. But then again, he was friends with Goten, so he couldn't be that bad.

Then it hit me. The hair, the eyes, the good looks. Of course! He was Trunks Briefs, the son of Bulma Briefs, or, my mother's boss.

No wonder he was a bit arrogant. I didn't blame him. He was only born into the richest family in the world. Not to mention his mother was beautiful and his father was pretty good-looking, so he had obviously inherited that trait from them.

"Aren't you part of the Briefs family?" I asked.

"My mother's the head of Capsule Corp., so yeah. By the way, Goten told me you're half-saiyan too. Is that true?" he asked, looking at him uncertainly.

"How do you know about saiyans?" I inquired, realizing my stupidity as soon as those words left my mouth.

I remembered Gohan telling me that his father, Vegeta, was the prince of saiyans.

"Never mind, I just remembered why, and yes. My father was saiyan and my mother is human, although my father died when I was seven," I aswered.

"Oh, sorry about that. Goten hadn't mentioned that part. Did you know my father is a prince?"

I smiled up at him and said,"As a matter of fact I did, and I also know that that makes you a prince as well."

"Precisely," he beamed proudly.

"Hear that Goten? I told you I wasn't lying, she even says I'm a prince. You know what that means don't you?" he said, nudging his shoulder.

"That you get to wear a crown?" Goten guessed, scratching the back of his head exactly like Gohan did.

"No stupid, it means that I'm the boss of you because you're saiyan too."

I stifled a laugh as Trunks continued to try to explain to Goten what being a prince meant.

After about five minutes of explaining, he finally gave up and went to the kitchen, claiming he was hungry.

"Can I have another hug?" I smiled, holding out my arms.

"Yay, hug!" he cried, running into my midsection and squeezing me affectionately.

"Can I call you my sister?" he asked after finally letting go.

"Sure, I consider us family already anyway," I said, ruffling his spiky hair. It was true, after meeting him a few months ago I thought of him as my baby brother.

"Yes! Now I have a sister!" he said happily.

"Hey Sister, can we play outside with Gohan?" he pleaded, looking at me innocently.

I hesitated before saying,"Just for a little while, Gohan's gonna teach me how to fight today." No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't resist his adorable smile.

"Hurray!" he yelled, running down the hall to where Gohan was eating.

"Hold on Goten I'm eating! Hey, that's mine!" I heard him protest.

"I want you to come play with me and Sis!"

"Sis? What are you talking about Goten, you don't have a sister," Gohan said.

I walked into the kitchen just in time to see Goten roll his eyes.

"Yes I do Gohan, it's Mae! You're gonna marry her so that means she's my sister," he explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

My face turned dark red as he spoke, seeing that Gohan's face was red as well.

"Goten I don't think Gohan has even thought about that yet, we just started dating," I stammered, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, he just a kid, he doesn't know any better," he apologized.

"I know, but I guess it's a good thing he thinks we'll be able to stick together, right?"

He blushed even deeper, looking down at the floor. "Yeah."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go play!" I urged, trying to lighten the mood.

As I took his hand and ran out the door with Goten in the lead, he gave me a look that I never forgot. One that said," No matter what happens, we'll be together forever."

"You have to feel it inside, it's the source of all your energy. It's right at the center of your core, just concentrate, you'll get it," Gohan explained encouragingly, gesturing at his chest to give me a general idea of where to find the source of my ki.

After playing with Goten for a while, we had decided to get started on my training. Before he began to teach me, Gohan had chosen to begin my training with learning about ki so that I could learn to control it and eventually be able to fly.

I sat on the soft grass and began to concentrate. My mind was clear and attentive, just as he had instructed me to do.

I took slow, deep breaths and searched deep inside my body, feeling surprised as I felt a faint warmth in my chest almost right away. I put every ounce of concentration I could muster into following that warmth, finding success as it got closer and closer.

The small sound of a bird chirping broke my concentration, and I felt the warmth slipping. As I tried to hold on, I thought about my reasons for learning martial arts.

I thought about how losing my father had had a huge impact on me, and how it caused me to fear the loss of another loved one just because I wasn't strong enough to defend them. I wanted to be able to put up a fight if anyone was ever put in danger, and to prove that I wasn't a weakling that could be easily overlooked.

I was able to find strength in my will to become stronger, and was able to embrace the ki that flowed freely inside my chest.

I tried directing it toward my hands as Gohan had told me to, and I soon felt a gentle warmth form in my palms.

I opened my eyes when I heard his surprised gasp, but I managed to keep my hold on the small blue ki ball that glowed in my hands.

"H-How were you able to...what...wow. You learn at an incredibly fast speed, you know that?" Gohan breathed, his eyes wide.

"Really?" I exclaimed, throwing my arms up in joy and accidentally releasing the energy ball from my hand. I grimaced as I heard it hit the ground and cause a small explosion.

"Sorry! I guess I kinda got carried away..." I admitted guiltily.

"It's fine, no one else is around so there was no harm done. Since you've got the gathering ki part down, I think it's time I teach you how to control it," he smiled, chuckling.

After a couple of demonstrations and tips, I readied myself and began to gather energy in my hand. That time the ball was bigger, and I successfully hit my target on my first try, which was a small tree surrounded by bushes.

I enjoyed seeing Gohan's shocked expression, and smirked in confidence. "I guess I have a knack for martial arts, huh?"

"I'll say!" he agreed, shaking his head in disbelief.

I laughed and walked towards him, feeling I should repay his efforts in trying to make me a fighter.

"Hey Gohan," I said mischievously.

"What?"

"I think I've got a crush on the teacher," I whispered seductively, leaning into him.

I used one hand to pull him closer and the other reach under his shirt and caress his chest. I heard a grunt and deep breath before he gave in and kissed me.

I put my arms around his neck and allowed his tongue to slip into my mouth, making my body shudder with pleasure. He tightened his grip on my waist and moved his mouth to my neck, alternatively running his tongue along my neck and lightly sucking on my skin.

Electricity coursed throughout my body as his lips went further down still, getting dangerously close to my breasts.

"Not here Gohan, let's get back to work," I reminded him weakly, barley being able to say even that.

He slowed down before coming to a complete stop, sighing in defeat. He released his tight grip on me and allowed me to breath.

"Sorry about that, but it's very hard to control yourself when you're kissing the body of an angel."

I shook my head and replied," Well it's not exactly easy to tell the hottest guy in the world to stop kissing you."

He stared at me for a moment before saying,"I think we should call it a day, besides, it's almost nightfall."

I looked up at the sky and saw the setting sun, realizing he was right.

"Yeah, ChiChi is probably worried anyway," I nodded.

He surprised me by picking me up and flying into the sky, giving me a breath-taking view of the orange sunset.

**So sorry for the delay! I had planned to post this up for my birthday on the weekend but I got backtracked and ended up not finishing this chapter until today. Hope you all enjoyed it and review!**


	9. Chapter 9

"Just five more minutes," I mumbled sleepily as someone tried shaking me awake.

"Mae, come on, you have to get up early so you can resume training!" a familiar voice urged.

"Wah, Gohan? Ugh is this gonna be a new daily routine?"

"Yeah, sorry, but if you want too become a better fighter then we can't afford to waste any time. Now come on, Mom is making breakfast in the kitchen," he said, exiting the room so I could change.

"Wonderful," I muttered, dragging myself out of the small bed I'd been sleeping in. ChiChi had been nice enough to let me stay the night as long as I slept in the guest room.

I had never been a morning person, so I was feeling pretty grumpy until the scent of food wafted into the room from the kitchen.

The delicious smell of food was so strong it made my mouth water.

I practically flew out the door and almost ended up crashing into Gohan, who was balancing a bunch of plates on his arms.

"Woah there Mae, you need to be more careful next time, I almost wasted perfectly good food!" he protested playfully.

"Speaking of which, can I have some, I'm really hungry," I pleaded, never taking my eyes off of the heaping plates of food that were just begging to be eaten.

"Well of course! Go ahead and take a seat at the table, and eat as much as you'd like," ChiChi answered for him, appearing out of nowhere with more plates.

"Thank you!" I cried gratefully, sinking into a nearby chair.

Gohan and I finished eating in twenty minutes, and by then I was feeling fully awake.

"So, where were we?" Gohan asked, slipping on purple wristbands as he spoke.

"You said something about controlling ki and learning how to fly," I recalled, instantly getting excited.

"Actually thanks for reminding me. I have something to tell you."

"Good news or bad news?"

"Bad I guess. Um, how do I put this? Ok, Videl called me up yesterday and demanded I teach her how to fly today, so I'll teach both of you at the same time."

After having such a good start, I hadn't thought my day could be ruined. But then she had to come in the picture.

"There is no way in hell that I'm gonna train with that bitch! Either you cancel your little session with her or I'm leaving!" I threatened, glaring at him firmly.

"Can you please just try to tolerate her this one day for me? I'd hate to be revealed as Saiyaman because then I wouldn't be able to save people without concealing my identity. Please tell me you understand!"

My mind was set on not training with her being there, but my heart felt differently. Gohan had done so many things for me and I had rarely even lifted a finger.

My heart got the better of me and I decided I'd tolerate Videl that one time.

"Fine," I said with a huff, crossing my arms grudgingly.

"Yes! Thanks for understanding Mae. I love you so much!"

"Yeah yeah, I love you too," I grumbled, jumping at the feel of his arms close around my waist.

"You're the best girlfriend a guy could ask for," he whispered, giving my lips a peck before walking in font of me.

"Ok, let's see how well you can punch. Try to get my face," he instructed as if nothing had happened.

"Ok..."

I threw a punch, aiming for his jaw, only to have it effortlessly blocked by Gohan's arm.

Frustrated, I launched into a barrage of combinations of punches and kicks, all of which were blocked.

"Wow, that's amazing! Are you sure you've never had any formal training, your form is flawless! You just need to improve your strength and technique, but since it's you, I doubt it'll be long before you turn Super Saiyan and catch up with the rest of us." He complimented, looking taken aback.

How could he say I was good? I couldn't even come close to landing a punch on him!

"What are you talking about Gohan, I can't even hit you!" I cried, trying hard to come up with an answer.

"You're stance is flawless, and you throw perfect punches. I'm thinking your father might have trained you a bit when you were young, but you don't have any memories of this so I'm not sure."

Flawless? Perfect? Where was he getting those words from? If anyone was perfect it was definitely him, not me.

"You're still not making any sense, but you're the one who knows about fighting, not me," I shrugged, tucking some loose hair behind my ear.

"Ok, now let's work on enhancing your apparently natural abilities. Do you remember how to gather ki into one specific section of your body?"

"Yeah, sure," I responded, not getting what that had to do with punching.

"I want you to do the same thing, but this time don't let your energy flow out of your body. Build it up inside the wanted area, and then use it to your advantage. For example, if you want to deliver a blow that will inflict a lot of damage, you have to gather ki into the arm or leg you want to use and release the energy as you make contact with your opponent."

For some strange reason everything he was saying made complete sense to me, and I was ready to try it out right away.

"Alright, so where can I practice?"

"Uh, well, I guess you can try hitting that giant boulder a few yards away from you," he said, perplexed.

As soon as walked up to it I knew I could do it. Gohan's instructions had almost too simple to comprehend.

I quickly gathered energy into my fist and connected with the face of the boulder. Pieces of rock went flying everywhere after a thundering crack, surprising even me.

I knew I was strong, but not that strong! Of course I was still nothing compared to Gohan, but I hadn't even expected to make a dent in that boulder.

"If you keep that up I won't have anything left to teach!" Gohan smiled.

I could tell he was getting used to my quick learning. He no longer stared at me with his mouth hanging open in shock.

Before I could respond, the faint sound of a helicopter reached my ears.

"What is that?" I asked, searching the sky for the source of the noise.

"Dammit! It's Videl! She made me promise to teach her how to fly today," he explained in annoyance.

I'd forgotten that Gohan had been blackmailed to train her, and wherever she went there was bound to be trouble.

We watched in silence as her yellow helicopter touched down on the soft grass with a thud.

"Hey Gohan!" she called in enthusiasm.

"Ugh, give me a break," I said, rolling my eyes in disgust. How could she have the nerve to flirt with my boyfriend right in front of my face and expect to get away with it?

"Um excuse me, I-..." was all I managed to get out before I received a look from Gohan.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at home studying or something?" she said mockingly.

"Shouldn't you be at home learning the alphabet?" I retorted, resisting the urge to slap her across the face.

"Hey, hey, ladies! Let's all try to get along for a while, ok?"

We both shot him looks of dislike before turning back to face each other.

"Look Videl, the only reason I'm still wasting my time here is because I owe Gohan a lot. Thanks to him I'm happy and doing what I love. I promised him that I would try to tolerate being around you for the whole day, but I swear I will beat the shit out of you when we fight at the tournament in a few weeks."

She rolled her eyes and laughed as I spoke, making me get angry.

"You really think that you can beat me, the daughter of the World Martial Arts Champion, at the tournament? That's the funniest thing I've ever heard! But you can go ahead and try."

"How about we get started?" Gohan suggested nervously, feeling the tension rise between us.

It had been a couple of hours since Gohan had begun teaching us how to fly, and it turned out I was a natural at it.

Videl however, was a different story. She was barley even able to hover more than a couple of feet above the air.

To irritate her, I flew above her head in circles and loops, making sure to laugh and smile to rub it in.

"Gohan can you please tell Mae to stop distracting me? No wonder I've gotten nowhere, she keeps bugging me," she complained obnoxiously.

He raised his eyebrow at me and shook his head.

"Mae, could you maybe fly somewhere Videl can't see you? She needs to be able to concentrate."

"She's just using that as an excuse for being the worst person to ever have attempted flying," I replied indignantly, rolling my eyes.

"You better watch your mouth before I pound you into pieces!" she threatened angrily, making me smirk.

"Aww I'm sorry, I didn't know you were so sensitive, maybe next time I should keep my rude comments to myself," I said sarcastically.

"That's it-"

"Woah there, let's all just calm down! Mae, please. You've been training hard all day, you should take a break and go eat some lunch," he said while holding on to Videl's wrist securely.

"Fine, if you don't want me to be around you then that's ok with me," I said, getting dangerously close to snapping Videl in two.

"C'mon love, you know it's not like that," he said, fondly caressing my hair.

I shoved his hand out of my face and said, "Oh so first you want me gone and then suddenly I'm your love? Whatever, I'm done with this bullshit. Go ahead and spend your precious time with that whore, just don't expect me to be waiting for you when you get back."

I left him standing alone with a baffled expression on this face, not caring how bitchy I had sounded.

I flew as fast and as hard as I could, passing his small house within a minute.

How could he just tell me to go away like that? Didn't he have any consideration about how that would make me feel? He'd made it sound like he'd rather spend time with her then me. What a jerk.

As I continued to fly into the depths of Mt. Paozu I felt a tear slide down my cheek. Why was I crying? It wasn't that big of a deal.

But then I realized I was just afraid of losing him to another girl. After Gohan and I had started dating, I'd become even more conscious about all the girls that he attracted. Luckily none of them had tried making a move on him, that is until Videl came along.

I knew since the day I saw her speaking to him in history class that she was after him. She always flirted with him, but Gohan being the innocent boy he was, didn't see it.

Then again, his naivety would probably also prevent him from falling for her.

Those thoughts comforted me, and I decided to head back and apologize. I realized that I had overreacted, and I knew he really was just trying to get Videl's training completed.

I flew at an easy pace, trying to enjoy the freedom I felt in flying. Taking my time to drink in the magnificent scenery of the mountain, I saw someone that looked a lot like Goten standing next to a river.

Flying lower to get a better view, I saw to my delight that it indeed was Goten standing next to the river.

"Hey Goten, what are you doing down there?" I called as neared the ground.

"Huh? Oh hey, it's you Mae! How'd you find me all the way out here? And since when did you know how to fly?"

"Gohan taught me today and I just happened to be heading back to begin another training session when I saw you here," I explained as I landed a couple of feet in front of him.

"Oh! Hey no fair, Gohan promised me he'd teach me how to fly too but he never did!" he pouted.

"Don't worry, if you want I'll teach you," I offered, thinking Gohan still had a long way to go if Videl was still learning at the pace she had been while I was there.

"Really?Yay! Thanks Sisy, I love you!" he cried in excitement, hugging me tightly.

"I love you too Goten, but would you mind not squeezing me so tight, you're a lot stronger than me and it feels like you're about to snap my ribs," I said.

"Ah! Sorry! I forgot about that," he apologized, quickly letting go.

"Don't worry about it."

"Great job Goten, keep it up! I think you're getting it!" I yelled as Goten hovered and flew wobbly around the forest.

Goten had been a fast learner as well, I had only begun teaching him two hours before and it seemed he was almost perfect at it.

"I think I'm almost as good as you now Mae!" he called happily as he flew around in shaky circles, laughing.

"Yeah, just try working on not shaking so much while you're flying. I suggest trying to get a better hold on your ki while you're up there and you'll be fine."

He nodded and flew in the direction of his house, claiming he was about to die of hunger.

I chuckled to myself and started off for the meadow Gohan and I usually trained at.

I decided to try and surprise him by landing behind Videl's helicpoter and tip-toeing up to him. Trying not to make any noise as I walked, I got a better view of Gohan and Videl.

They seemed to just be finishing up and taking a break. I watched as Gohan patted her on the back and gave her a high five, making me laugh.

If that was me, he would've congratulated me by giving me a hug and a kiss.

I inched my way closer and accidentally snapped a twig, causing me to dive behind a bush and hope he hadn't spotted me.

"What was that?" I heard him ask.

"Who knows. Anyway Gohan, there's something that I've been wanting to tell you for a while," Videl said, voice soft and gentle.

"What is it?"

"Well, Gohan, I love you. I love you more than you could ever know, much more than that whore of a girlfriend you have."

My eyes widened in fury as I heard what she was saying, and I almost blew my cover as I raised my ki.

I quickly brought it down before Gohan could notice, and decided to watch what would happen from the bush.

"Videl, you know I don't return those feelings, I'm in complete and utter love with Mae," he answered.

"Please just give me a chance, I know I'm better than her. Gohan, you're wasting your looks on a girl like that. Can you please just trust me and know that I am the perfect match for you, not her," she begged, taking his hands and moving her face inches from his.

"I can't, I already told you why," he said, trying to back away.

"Let's see if this will change your mind."

She jumped on top of him and crushed her lips to his, kissing him violently.

That was it. That was the last straw.

I ripped the bush out of my way and bounded over to them, feeling a dark anger overcome me like never before.

I was about to tear Videl's head off of her neck when I realized Gohan wasn't even trying to push her away, he just laid there and let her kiss him.

Neither of them had noticed me until I began crying, making them snap their heads up in alarm.

"Get the hell off of him bitch, before I make you wish you had never been born," I growled, my voice scaring even me.

Gohan quickly pulled her off of him and stood up, his face filled with a hundred different emotions.

He opened his mouth to say something but shut it when he knew there was nothing he could say to explain.

"Face it Mae, Gohan loves me, not you," Videl said, slipping her arms around his waist and smirking.

"You know that's not true Mae, you're my the love of my life, Gohan protested, pushing Videl away.

"Save your bullshit for someone that believes it Gohan. If you loved me so much then why did you let her kiss you like that? Why did you kiss her back? I thought you were different from all the other guys. But I guess I couldn't have been more wrong," I said, voice shaking as I tried holding my tears.

If there was one thing I hated, it was crying. To me that was the biggest weakness anyone could ever show. It gave satisfaction to their enemy that they were able to break them.

In this case Videl really had broken me, but I certainly did not want to let her know that.

"Mae it's not what you think, if you'd just let me explain-"

"Explain what? It's as clear as air really. You showed me with your actions that I'm not the most important thing in your life, she is. So don't expect me to ever speak to you again Gohan."

I began flying off into the sky when he caught me from behind and held me firmly.

"No Mae. I refuse to let it end like this. Please let me tell you what happened," he pleaded in determination.

"Let go of me! I said I don't want to talk to you!" I yelled, tears rushing down my cheeks as I lost control of my emotions.

The reality of the situation had finally sunk in, and my entire body began quivering with grief.

How could he do this to me? How could he kiss another girl? Why did that girl have to

be Videl?

"No, I'll never let go of you," he growled, hugging me tightly.

"I said don't touch me!" I yelled, shoving his arms away from me.

I flew away as fast as I could, not even looking back as I moved.

I had no idea where I was headed, notlr did I care. My whole world was falling apart, and I didn't know if I could handle it.

Never before in my life had I had such deep, intense feelings for someone. I knew before that I was putting myself under a huge amount of risk in deciding to pursue my love for Gohan, yet I'd been willing to do it.

I knew there was no other choice, not with him. My fate had been set in stone. I was going to fall in love with Son Gohan one way or another.

I had been stupid to think that he would feel the same way about me.

I didn't realize I had flown to Siri's house until I practically crashed into her balcony.

I knocked on the glass sliding door and an alarmed Siri came rushing out.

"How in the world did you get up here?" she asked.

Before I could answer hot tears started streaming down my face uncontrollably, and I collapsed into her arms.

**Sorry for taking this long to update! I promise it won't happen again:/ Review and I hope none of you guys kill me for taking forever... Bye and see you soon with a new chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

"Who's ass am I kicking?" Siri asked as she half dragged half carried me into her bedroom.

"Mae, answer me! There's no one that would be able to make you cry like that, well except for... No way! What did Gohan do to you?" she demanded, her brow creasing in concern.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said in between tears.

"Please Mae, you have to tell me, I'm you're best friend!"

"If I tell you will you shut up?" I snapped, glaring at her.

"I promise," she said, taking a seat next to me on her bed.

"Videl went over to train with him today, and I ended up leaving since I couldn't stand her being there. When I went back I found her trying to make out with Gohan, only he didn't do anything to stop her. He didn't protest, he didn't push her away, he didn't even blink. What makes it worse is he kissed her back."

After telling her what had happened I began to weep in her arms, clutching onto her her like she was my lifeline.

"It's alright Mae, everything's gonna be fine, you'll see," she soothed gently, offering me a box of tissues.

"That's the thing Siri, nothing's ever gonna be ok now. Not without him," I sobbed, holding her tighter.

"He was the best thing that ever happened to me, my reason for happiness. Now that his true colors have been revealed, my whole world has gone down in flames. You know Siri, I actually thought he felt the same way about me. I actually thought our love was the kind that belonged in a fairy tale, the kind that every girl dreamed of. Can you believe how stupid I was?" I cried, tears still flowing down my cheeks like little waterfalls.

"You weren't the only one he fooled, he had us all under his spell. But that's exactly the reason for my doubt, since its highly unlikely none of us would have detected anything bad in him. I mean, before this mess, I thought Gohan was the purest person on earth!" she said, trying to think of something, anything that she'd seen before that dubbed him impure, but could find nothing.

"Do you want to spend the night here? I'll be happy to sleep on the floor," she offered, handing me a blanket.

"That'd be great, thanks Siri," I said, hugging her.

I didn't know what I would do without her, she was one of my best friends. I knew that she would understand, since she was currently in love with Jason.

"You know Mae, I'm still having a hard time believing all of this. Gohan is jut too sweet and innocent, I don't know how he could do that to you."

I shook my head and whispered, "Me neither."

It's getting pretty late, I'll see you in the morning," she said after a few minutes of silence, gathering blankets on the floor and shutting off the lamp.

"Goodnight Siri," I said, not even bothering to get underneath the covers. Either way I would spend the night cold.

A couple of hours had passed, and I laid in Siri's bed fully awake.

I couldn't stop thinking about Gohan, and despite what he did to me, I couldn't help but wish I were with him.

Silent tears slid down my face as I thought about him, about how much he meant to me. A huge part of me wanted to forgive him and move on, but the smaller more stubborn part of me never wanted to even hear his name again.

The sound of a thud coming from the balcony snapped me back into reality.

"Siri? Is that you?" I asked, sitting up on alarm.

A soft snore coming from the floor confirmed my suspicions.

Either a thief had climbed onto her balcony somehow, or an animal was sneaking around.

I looked down to make sure Siri was still asleep, and sure enough, she was.

Trying not to wake her, I crawled out of bed and tip-toed over to the sliding door and peered out.

Before I could see anything there was a loud crash followed by swearing, making me jump up in fright.

"Who's there?" I called after recovering, ready to defend myself if it came to it.

"Mae, what's going on?" Siri asked from behind, voice trembling in fear.

"There's someone on your balcony. I think it's a thief," I answered, nearing the door handle.

"No, you'll get hurt!" she cried, locking onto my arm.

"Relax, I'll be fine," I said, screaming in surprise when the door flew open and I felt someone's hand tighten around my wrist.

"Shh! Don't be afraid, it's me," Gohan whispered, loosening his grip.

I stared at him in shock before completely losing it in front of him.

"How did you know she was here? More importantly, what do you want?" an angry Siri demanded, having also yelled out in alarm when he bursted in.

"Don't you see you've already done enough damage? Why can't you just leave her alone?" she continued, putting her arms around me protectivley.

"Because I couldn't just leave things the way they were earlier! You have no idea how horrible I felt."

He turned to me with the expression of a person that had been set on fire, there was so much pain in his eyes it was unbearable.

"Mae, I don't expect you to ever forgive me for what I've done, but I'm begging you, just please hear me out," he pleaded.

I had never seen Gohan so weakened, so hurt by something he had done. I had gotten a glimpse of this side of him a while back when we had just started going out on the day I tripped and cut open my forehead. It made me realize just how much he had suffered from this situation as well.

I nodded my head in between tears, wanting to hear what he had to say.

He grimaced at my tears and let out a shaky sigh.

"I hate myself, so much, for hurting you like this. You are my everything, and without you I have no reason to keep on living," he said, walking closer to me.

His words made my body start to tense because there was nothing I wanted more than to be able to believe him. My mind kept screaming at me to run away and never look back, but my heart wouldn't allow it. It felt the love, and knew it was there, just waiting for me to accept it.

"The whole time you were gone, Videl had tried to manipulate me into being with her instead of you, but I just ignored it and pretended like nothing was happening. When we finally finished, she decided to take more drastic levels and kissed me. At the time I had no idea you were watching us, so I just stayed there and let her kiss me. But it wasn't for the reason you think, you see, she revealed to me that she's been hurting inside. That she hates her father's fame and how he acted as if he didn't even care when her mother died a while ago. She told me about all her insecurities, and how she knew that as long as you were still alive I'd never choose her. I hate seeing anyone suffer, even her, so I let her pour all her emotions out on me. I'll admit I even kissed her back a little, but just for comfort."

As I listened to his explanation, my sorrow turned into violent anger. I realized Gohan's gentle nature had prevented him from pushing her away, and I knew she had just been manipulating his emotions so he'd let her kiss him. She'd known exactly what she was doing the whole time, and I hated it when people took advantage of Gohan's kind innocence.

"Where is she?" I asked coldly, rising from the floor.

"No. Mae, listen to me, you can't just go out and kill her. After she's gone, what good will it do? The damage is done, I know you'll never want me back, so what's the point?" he said, stopping me with his arm.

"Oh Gohan, how could I hate you? You need to have more faith. I love you as much as I did before, maybe even more. Your kindness was the reason for all of this. How can I not love someone that would do that for the sake of others?" I cried, embracing him tightly.

I was both surprised and hurt when he didn't hug me back, he just stood there shaking his head.

"I can't believe it. Why are you so eager to forgive me? I don't deserve this. You should be swearing at me and telling me how much hate me, not how much you love me!"

I smiled and said,"That's what happens when you become so in love with someone, that you're willing to take them back no matter what they did to you."

He stared at me with confusion, still not comprehending my level of forgiveness.

A small smile appeared on my lips before I leaned into him, kissing him passionately.

After spending most of the night thinking I had lost him, his lips against mine felt incredible.

After a few minutes of tongue filled passion, Siri cleared her throat in discomfort and reminded us we were in her bedroom.

"Sorry about that," I said, blushing.

"Well next time you want to practically have sex, do it where no one else is watching!" she grumbled, mumbling about never letting us in her house again.

It had been two weeks since me and Gohan's big fight, and they were honestly the best weeks of my life.

Our relationship had gotten stronger, and now we were inseparable. We trained hard for the coming Bodukai, and during those two weeks Gohan revealed that his father would be joining us in the tournament.

At first I thought he had gone crazy, but as he explained the principles of otherworld, realization slowly sunk in that he wasn't kidding.

Knowing that I'd meet his legendary father soon made my stomach churn. I had no idea how he'd react to me or the fact that there was another Saiyan out there.

Time flew and before I knew it, I was getting ready for the tournament.

I didn't have the heart to cut my long hair, so I tied it in a ponytail instead. It wouldn't get in my way, but people could still use it to their advantage in a fight if they pulled it.

I took a deep breath as I put the finishing touches on my outfit that consisted of a black tank top, purple shorts, black sneakers, and blue wristbands.

I exited the room I had been changing in and knocked on Gohan's door, raising my eyebrows in surprise when he came out wearing his Saiyaman outfit.

"How come you're going as Saiyaman?" I asked in amusement.

"To keep my identity concealed," he answered simply, running his eyes down my body.

"I didn't know you would look so amazing in fighting clothes," he said, keeping his eyes on my skin-tight shorts.

"T-Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself," I mumbled, blushing.

He brought his mouth up to my ear and whispered,"You have to promise you'll never leave my sight."

His lips brushed against my ear as he spoke, sending shivers down my spine.

"Um, sure. But what for?" I breathed, feeling numb.

"There are people who have no respect for a young woman with a body like yours, for example one of my father's friends, Master Roshi."

"O-Ok," I managed, blushing uncontrollably.

I waited for him to let go of me, but when he didn't I turned my face to see what was going on.

Before I could process anything, his lips assaulted my neck. I let out a small I

gasp of shock, followed by a soft moan.

He stopped suddenly and shook his head out. "Sorry about that, now's not the time for me to be giving in to my impulses," he apologized, pecking my lips.

"If only you weren't so beautiful."

I smiled and took his hand, walking down the hall to where ChiChi had started making breakfast.

"Wow theses eggs are delicious, you're an awesome cook ChiChi!" I complimented in between mouthfuls.

"Well, when you have to cook for two Saiyans that have bottomless pits for stomachs, you learn a thing or two," she replied with a smile.

After stuffing myself full, Gohan and I headed outside for our last training session, which I thought was dumb since we'd be leaving in half-an hour.

"What's the point of training for a few minutes?" I asked.

"Sorry about that, I kind of lied. What I was actually planning to do was show you what a Super Saiyan looks like up close," he said, readying himself.

"How did you know I wanted to see that?" I asked, I was pretty sure I'd never told him that out of embarrassment.

"I could tell by the way you described me as a kid in the Cell Games that you wanted to see it for yourself," he replied, grinning.

My eyes widened a little before returning to normal size. He never failed to amaze me.

"Well what are you waiting for? Let's see it!" I said eagerly.

"Here goes."

He let a out a loud yell and I felt his ki skyrocket to levels I had never thought possible. As he continued to cry out his hair began to flash gold, and his eyes turned completely teal, no pupils.

"Wow," I breathed as a golden aura surrounded his body and his hair stood up even more, becoming permanently gold.

The air was knocked out of my lungs as I took in his appearance. How it was possible, I didn't know, but his attractiveness had multiplied as much as his power.

"G-Gohan, how... You're..unreal," I marveled.

He grinned and said, "So, you like it?"

"I'd be crazy if I didn't," I replied, lost in his perfect features.

He let out a small breath and reverted to his normal state.

"So, you ready for the World Martial Arts Tournament?"

**I know this chapter was short, but I ran out of ideas so I decided to end it sooner than the others. I've also decided I'll update once a week from now on, usually on the weekends. Thanks for reading and review!:)**


	11. Chapter 11

"You're gonna let Goten fight too?" I asked in shock as he joined us in flight while Gohan and I were on our way to the tournament.

Didn't he care about the safety of his brother? Why would he let him fight adults?

"Oh he'll be fine. Goten can handle himself pretty well," Gohan answered with a careless smile.

"I don't know Gohan. He may be a Saiyan, but he is only seven years old."

"Nonsense, by the time I was five I had already witnessed several deaths and fought fierce Saiyan warriors who, at the time, far surpassed me in power," he said with a wave of his hand.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise and said,"You never told me you were only five when that happened!"

"Oh...Well, now you know," he said guiltily.

I shook my head and turned over to Goten, who was flying happily.

Well, he was pretty strong for a kid, I'd gave him that.

I focused on everything that I would have to face today, including meeting all of Gohan's friends.

I was excited to fight and gain experience so I could become better, but I was also a bit scared. If Gohan's friends were all as strong as him, I didn't have slightest amount of hope in beating them.

As if all of that wasn't enough, I'd also be meeting my boyfriend's father for the first time. The true world savior, Goku.

Gohan had told me so many wonderful stories about him, and from what I heard he was amazing. The way he described him made it obvious just how much Gohan admired his father, and I could tell he missed him desperately.

I sort of had an idea what he was going through at least. I had also lost my father at a young age, and it was hard without him. When I'd found out from Gohan that he was almost certainly a Saiyan, I had felt nothing but anger at my mother for not telling me.

I had felt like she'd betrayed me somehow, and I swore I'd confront her about it once she got back from her business trip in a couple of days.

There were so many things I wanted to know about him, yet I had very little knowledge of my father.

"We're here!" I heard a distance voice say as my mind returned to reality.

I looked up to see a small island filled with people from all over the world. There were fighters, tourists, and reporters everywhere. Food stands and souvenir shops covered the streets. Further back was a huge building with an arena where I guessed the matches took place.

Seeing everything in person sent butterflies to my stomach. I had no idea whether I'd even be able to make it through the first round.

"Come on Mae, I see Krillin and Master Roshi!" Gohan yelled behind him as he flew towards a short man with black hair.

Standing next to him was a young woman with short blonde hair and an old man with sunglasses.

"Well if it isn't Gohan! How've you been man?" the short guy asked, smiling.

"Better than ever, thanks to Mae here," he answered, hugging me close to him.

"Is this the lovely girlfriend you were bragging about? Well I can see why you'd be proud to have her!" he said. "My name's Krillin by the way, nice to meet you Mae."

"The pleasure is all mine," I smiled, shaking his hand.

"Oh hoho, hello there Mae! Mind introducing me to your friends?" the old man I guessed was Master Roshi said, staring straight at my breasts.

My eyes widened in disgust as he spoke, and I slapped him straight across the face. Gohan wasn't kidding when he told me how perverted he was.

"I would appreciate if you didn't say any rude comments like that to Mae again, that is, if you value your life," he threatened, surprisingly hostile.

"Ok, ok! I was just messing with you, calm down!" he cried nervously, causing everybody to laugh.

"Sorry about old Master Roshi, I wouldn't pay any attention to him if I were you," Krillin apologized.

"As long as he doesn't do something like that again, I forgive him," I said, getting distracted by a familiar lavender haired boy.

"Is that Trunks?" I asked in surprise. Was he there to fight too? What was it with little kids wanting to fight?

"Oh yeah! Hey buddy, what's up?" Gohan called, waving at him.

"Hi Gohan! Hi Goten!" he greeted with enthusiasm.

Trying to keep up with him was Bulma Briefs, followed by a man with dark black hair that stood straight up.

"That man you see walking behind Bulma is Vegeta, but I would try to avoid him if I were you. He's not exactly the nicest person," Gohan warned, nodding at him.

"Well if it isn't both of Kakarrot's brats! Speaking of which, where is that clown, shouldn't he be here by now?" Vegeta demanded, looking around.

"That's what I thought, but apparently he isn't here yet," he replied with a shrug, causing him to scowl.

"If there's one thing that idiot's good at it's being late," he muttered, crossing his arms. "Who's the girl?"

My heart skipped a beat as I noticed he was referring to me, making me bite my lip nervously.

"Her name is Mae, and she's here to fight in the tournament," he answered, putting his arm around me.

"Did he mention she's his fiancee?" ChiChi asked as she came up behind us.

I sweat dropped as the whole group fell anime-style, rising slowly in shock.

Krillin was the first to speak when he asked incredulously,"You two are getting married?"

"N-No! Mom why'd you say that? For the last time, Mae and I aren't getting married!" Gohan protested in embarrassment, turning redder than a tomato.

"But I thought..." ChiChi was cut off when Gohan yelled out in frustration,"Well you thought wrong!"

Everyone started at him in shock, none of us had never seen him yell at her like that.

"How dare you raise your voice at me young man! Get back here Gohan!" she commanded as she chased him around the area with a frying pan.

The shocked expressions on everyone's face turned into laughter as she chased him, angrily swinging the pan out in front of her.

"Ok I'm sorry! I promise I won't yell at you again!" he cried, putting his hands up in surrender.

"Hn, pathetic," Vegeta smirked as he watched ChiChi whack him a couple of times.

"It may seem harmless, but that pan hurts!" Gohan complained as he rubbed his head tentatively, standing next to me. "Maybe a kiss will help?"

I gave him a look before saying,"Or maybe I should tell ChiChi that apparently she didn't hit you hard enough?"

"It's worth it," he smiled, making his way to my lips.

"Just one?"

"Just one," I allowed, letting him kiss me for a minute before breaking away.

"You're no fun," he pouted, trying to resume the kiss.

"Gohan! Have you not realized everyone is staring?" I said through my teeth, nodding my head in their direction.

They stared at us with mixed expressions. Krillin was wiggling his eyebrows in approval, ChiChi was smiling, Goten and Trunks were making barfing noises, Bulma gave us a thumbs up, and Vegeta wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Oh, sorry," he whispered, fingers lacing around mine.

"Gross!" Goten and Trunks yelled in unison, causing me to giggle. I had forgotten how funny they could be.

"Hey look, it's Piccolo!" Goten piped, pointing at green figure leaning on a tree.

"Hey! Piccolo! Why are you so isolated? Come on over here!" Gohan called, waving at his old mentor.

I watched as he reluctantly made his way to where the whole gang was standing, looking at me strangely.

The fact that he had green skin and large pointy ears made it clear that he was no human being, making him quite conspicuous. Despite his unearthly appearance, Piccolo seemed to have many human-like features. His well built frame and strong arms suggested he wasn't an easy opponent, and the confidence in his eyes confirmed my suspicions.

"Hi, I'm Mae. It's an honor to meet you Piccolo, Gohan has told me many good things about you," I greeted, holding my hand out for him to shake.

He grunted in return, nodding his head politely. I guess he wasn't really the social type.

"Is there any chance you've seen my father?" Gohan asked excitedly.

"Afraid not. He's late, as always," Piccolo answered, voice deep.

"Darn," he frowned, crossing his arms in disappointment.

At that moment two objects from above came into view, earning curious looks from the crowd below.

I squinted my eyes to get a better view, and I could just make out two people that were seemingly getting closer.

"What are you guys looking at? I can't see a thing!" Bulma asked, straining to get a better view.

"It's him! It's Kakarrot! That whelp actually came to fight! No matter, I've become much stronger then last time he was on earth," Vegeta said loudly, his words surprising everyone but me.

"Who's Kakarrot?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"It's my father's Saiyan name. Vegeta prefers to call him that instead of Goku," Gohan replied, paying more attention to his descending father.

"Oh. Well that made me feel stupid," I muttered under my breath, shaking my head in disbelief. Sometimes I could be really slow.

"Oh wow, did you hear that Goten? You're finally gonna get to meet your father!" ChiChi clapped in excitement.

"Really?" Goten asked, suddenly looking nervous.

"What's wrong Goten?" I asked in concern, he was starting to worry me.

"I-I'm nervous. What if he doesn't like me?" he said worriedly, clutching onto his mother's dress.

"Don't you worry Goten, it's my first time meeting him too. I'm also nervous, but you shouldn't think like that. You're his son, of course he's gonna like you! It'd be impossible to dislike somebody as adorable as you," I coaxed, gently caressing his wild hair.

"You think so?" he said hopefully, eyes wide.

"Of course!"

Before he had time to reply excited cheers erupted from the group, making me look up in alarm.

Before everyone stood a man that was an exact copy of Goten, minus the height. The spiky hair, the innocent black eyes, even the carefree smile was all there.

So this was the man that had raised Gohan. The man that he idolized and loved so much.

As he greeted everyone with hugs and smiles, I watched Gohan change right before my eyes.

I had always noticed that as hard as he tried to hide it, Gohan had a sad, depressed part of him. A part that despised him for being responsible for his father's death, despite all the times he'd been told otherwise.

ChiChi had sat down with me and told me all about that fateful day. Gohan had let his power get to his head, and had become cocky and overconfident. Cell was going to blow himself up along with the planet, but then Goku stepped in and teleported away at the last second. The blast was too much for him, and he died along with King Kai and his planet.

Seven years had passed since the last time Gohan had seen him, and all that time had taken it's toll.

But as he neared his father I saw something snap inside of him. Realization was written all over his face as he said," Hi dad."

Tears threatened to fall as I watched them embrace tightly, making me realize something of my own.

There was a deep yearning in my heart that I'd been pushing away for a long time, and seeing Gohan reunite with his father rekindled that feeling. I wanted nothing more then to be able to see my father again for one last time, to be able to say goodbye.

I hadn't noticed I had begun to cry until Gohan bounded over to me in concern. "What's wrong love? Did I do something to upset you?"

"No no, not at all. It's just that you and Goku reminded me of my father, that's all," I said, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't you dare say sorry Gohan! You did absolutely nothing wrong, I just lost it for a second ok?" I interrupted, playing my index finger over his lips, silencing him.

"Still, I don't like seeing you cry. It makes me feel like I failed to protect you," he insisted, forcing me to look at him.

"It was nothing, calm down," I said, waving my hand dismissively.

Before he had time to say anything else, Goku walked over to us with a curious smile. "Who's this Gohan? She your friend?"

"Umm, sort of, but not really. Well, I mean..."

"I'm his girlfriend," I finished for him, trying to act calm.

"Oh! Wow, she's beautiful Gohan! You sure are one lucky guy," he said, patting his back in approval. "What's your name?"

"Mae, nice to meet you Goku. It's amazing that you were able to come, even of it it is just for one day," I smiled.

"Thanks! Are you here to fight in the Budokai?" he asked eagerly.

"Actually I am," I replied. He was actually really easy to talk to! I had expected him to be serious and wise, but he was just the opposite. He seemed more happy and go-lucky than Goten even!

"Wow even better! You're gonna be an awesome daughter-in-law, I just know it!" he cried, grinning.

"Dad, there's something else you might want to know about her. But we want everyone to know, so let's get back to the gang," Gohan whispered, beckoning us to follow him.

"Psst. Mae, can you tell me what it is, I promise I'll act surprised when Gohan announces your secret," Goku whispered into my ear, making me laugh.

"Sorry Goku, you're just gonna have to wait a bit," I said.

He pouted in disappointment and walked ahead, mumbling about never knowing anything.

"Let me guess, Dad tried to make you tell him?" Gohan asked, shaking his head comically.

"Yes, but don't worry, I didn't say a word," I promised as we caught up with the rest of the group.

"Hey ChiChi, is that a little me hiding behind your leg?" I heard Goku ask, eyebrows raised in question.

"Meet your youngest son, Goten," she said as she tried making him come closer to his father.

"Hey there little fella! Wow you look just like me when I was your age!" he marveled, holding out his arms for Goten to hug.

At first he stood there quietly looking up at his father, but with a sudden cry he ran up to him and said,"Daddy!"

After their touching moment Goku put him down and turned back to me. "Now, what was it you wanted to tell everyone?"

I took a deep breath and held onto Gohan's hand for reassurance, trying not to think about how they would react to the news.

"Well umm, you see...I have many things in common with you guys, more than you may think. I also posses Saiyan blood. My father was Saiyan and my mother is from earth. I didn't know any of this until Gohan put the pieces together and told me about a month ago."

Everyone stared at me with silent shock for a few seconds before they bombarded me with questions. It was hard to make out what anyone was saying since everyone was talking at once, so I stood quietly until Gohan managed to calm them down.

Vegeta was the first to speak, saying,"That's impossible! The only Saiyans that managed to survive the destruction of planet Vegeta were myself, Kakarrot, Nappa, and Raditz! There was no one else, Frieza made sure of that!"

"I know what happened to your planet killed off almost every Saiyan in existence, but there isn't any other explanation for my unusual strength. I don't know how he did it, but somehow my father was able to escape before he was also killed. I even found a picture of me when I was a baby and I had a tail! What other explanation could there be?" I demanded, hoping I got through his thick skull.

"It can't be, you're lying!" he accused. I couldn't believe how stubborn he was! Even with all the facts I had provided him with, he refused to believe me!

"I believe you," Goku said quietly. "I mean, why would you lie about something like that? No wonder your energy didn't feel normal, you aren't completely human!"

I nodded my head in appreciation of his understanding and willingness to believe I was telling the truth.

"Wow, to think Kana had a child with a Saiyan too! How unexpected! I can't wait to talk about this with her, not to mention all the questions I have about Asperus!" Bulma said in anticipation.

"Asperus? Was that my father's name? It sounds vaguely familiar..." I trailed, thinking hard.

Mother had never said his name or even talked about him in the past ten years, and I had trouble remembering it.

"Yes, I thought you knew," she said, looking down. "I'm sorry if I made this hard for you, but when your mom gets back I promise I'll help you guys sort this out."

"No it's fine, I'm actually kind of relieved. At least I know one thing about him."

"Attention all contestants, the registration booth will be closing in ten minutes! If you have not signed up yet please come now!" an announcer on the loudspeakers warned.

"Come on guys, before it's too late!" Krillin called, already running toward the booth.

After having signed up and eating a very satisfying lunch, we all headed out toward the area where the final contestants would be determined.

"I'm nervous Gohan. What if I'm not strong enough to even get through the preliminaries?" I panicked as we walked, squeezing his arm as tight as I could.

"That's not gonna happen Mae, you're the strongest, most brilliant girl on the planet. I know you'll make it," he said reassuringly, kissing my forehead.

"Really?" I asked.

"Really."

"I love you Gohan, I really do," I whispered, touching his cheek.

"I know," he teased, earning a playful punch.

"Ow, what was that for?" he complained loudly, rubbing his arm.

"For teasing me you hottie," I replied, smiling in the end.

As Gohan and I continued to flirt, I spotted two strange men make their way toward us. One was short and purple, with a Mohawk of white hair. The other one was tall and red, his white hair reaching the bottom of his shoulders. Both men wore strange clothing, red and blue fabric that seemed perfect.

The way they walked was oddly graceful, and the purple one's face seemed young but ancient at the same time. The whole thing was disconcerting.

"Do you know those guys Goku? Krillin asked, assuming he knew them from the otherworld.

"Nope, I've never seen them in my life," he replied.

"Y-You mean, you have no idea who those two are? They look like trouble," Krillin said nervously.

"Stop being such a wimp Krillin, I thought you were a man," the woman called 18 smirked.

"Uh well, yeah. I was just being cautious, that's all honey," he laughed anxiously, making her roll her eyes.

I watched as the odd purple man introduced himself to Goku as Shin. They exchanged a few words before he departed with a small smile, eyes gleaming.

"What was that all about?" I asked curiously.

"I'm not sure I know entirely either, he just shook my hand and seemed to measure my power before telling me he was excited to see my full power in combat. Then he just left."

As Goku spoke Piccolo seemed to be deep in thought, staring after Shin and his companion. I had a feeling he might've known more than he was letting on, but I dismissed it and thought he'd tell us later.

"Hurry up, we don't have all day you idiots," Vegeta growled, walking ahead of us.

I looked at Gohan before picking up my pace, struggling to keep up with the agitated prince.

Instead of having to fight opponents to get to the final rounds, there was a punching machine that measured how strong a punch was. The people with the top scores would be the ones to move on to the next round.

Mr. Satan went first as a demonstration, getting a score of 121. The small crowd of fighters and reporters cheered and clapped, snapping pictures of the ludicrous man.

Seeing him reminded me of Videl, making my heart burn with the desire to finish her.

Of course when people from our group went to punch the machine, the numbers skyrocketed to unimaginable heights.

Before I had a chance to go, Vegeta punched the machine too hard and completely destroyed it. Shocked gasps erupted form the crowd as they gawked at what little remained of the machine.

"Well this is just great, now we have to wait until they get another one out, and that could take years," Gohan complained,. We were the only ones that hadn't had a turn, so he wasn't too happy. "Oh well, at least I get to be here with you."

"Yeah, too bad, I really wanted to see how Trunks and Goten do in the kid division," I agreed.

"See you two later, we're gonna go over and watch the boys fight," Goku called as he and the rest of the gang began to leave.

"Bye, we'll be there in a bit!" I waved.

"Guess its just the two of us now," Gohan sighed, resting his arm over my shoulders.

"Yeah. So, Gohan, how does it feel to be able to spend the day with your father?" I asked, hoping I didn't intrude.

"Well, at first all I could feel was guilt, but then it slowly started to dawn on me that everything that happened that day in the fight against Cell wasn't all my fail. Seeing my father happy and not at all resentful towards me really helped me change for the better," he confided, looking down as he spoke.

"I'm really proud of you Gohan, it takes a lot of heart to be able to forgive yourself after so many years," I smiled, staring into his dark eyes.

"Thanks Mae. I'm so grateful to have you, there's no one else that could really understand what it's like to lose a father you were close to."

"I know, and I'm also glad to have you. Besides, without me you might've ended up with someone like Videl as girlfriend," I added, kissing him briefly before seeing someone from the corner of my eye. "Speak of the devil."

I had known all along that Videl would enter the tournament, but I had hoped my intuition was wrong and she would finally leave me and Gohan alone.

"She's here," I said dryly, my mood instantly darkening.

"What, really? Where?" Gohan asked, looking around.

"A few yards behind you," I said, taking in the image of the person I hated more than anyone.

"Oh…How about we wait around over there," he suggested, pointing at the far end of the square.

"Good idea," I said, clenching my fists tightly.

"You'll get your chance when the budokai begins," he assured me, rubbing my back in comfort.

"I know."

"Yeah Trunks! You can do it Goten!" I cheered as I watched the two of them engage in combat. I liked both of them very much, and I had no idea who to root for so I decided to be neutral and encourage both of them.

After the staff had finally brought out another punching machine Gohan and I had flown there as fast as we could, finding that we were just in time to watch the final match between Goten and Trunks.

"Not so loud Mae, you're bursting my eardrums!" Gohan cried, covering his ears.

"Sorry but I want be loud enough so they can hear me," I explained, not being able to hold down a giggle.

"They're Saiyan too, I'm pretty sure they can hear you just fine without all that screeching!" he said.

"Screeching? That's it mister, it's time I teach you some manners!" I fumed, chasing him around the seats.

"I was kidding! I just wanted you to stop being so loud!" he protested, flinching as I caught up to him.

"Hahaha! You're hilarious Gohan! You should've seen the look on your face!" I laughed, falling to the floor.

"Not funny Mae!" he pouted, crossing his arms.

After taking a couple of minutes to recover from my laughing fit, I turned my attention back to the fight.

I was amazed at the feel of their power, and they were only kids! I could imagine what they would be like as adults. Each time one of them landed a blow the sheer sound of their power would echo in the arena, leaving me at loss for words.

As I continued watching I gasped in utter shock as Goten turned Super Saiyan and broke from the chokehold Trunks had him in with ease.

"Shit, Goten! I told him not to do that!" Gohan cussed, gripping the top of the fence we were behind.

"Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that Goten can turn Super Saiyan too?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah, Trunks can too. I didn't know until a couple of weeks ago either," he muttered.

"How? You weren't able to transform until you were 11!"

"That's what I said! Until that day Goten showed me I thought it took desperate need to unlock such power, but it wasn't like that for them," he said.

The mere thought of such young children being able to become Super Saiyan gave me hope that maybe someday I could too.

The fight anded when Trunks went Super Saiyan and hit Goten with an energy blast, causing him to be knocked out of the ring.

Gohan and I headed back towards the building where the remaining fighters would be announced. Nervousness once again overcame me as the final contestants were called one by one, until there were only three spots left.

I squeezed Gohan's hand and hoped the next fighter to be called was me. My punching number had been 152, but I had held back plenty. I should've already known that I would be in, but I had never bothered to look at the numbers before leaving to watch the boys fight.

"And the next fighter to move on to the finals is… Mae Walker!" the blonde host announced.

"Yeah! Woohoo! congratulations Mae, you made it!" Everyone cheered, making me blush.

After the final two were announced, it was time to pick lots in order to determine who we'd each be fighting.

I drew the number 4, relieved that I wouldn't be fighting Krillin, Goku, or Vegeta. I wrinkled my nose in disgust as Videl went up to choose her number, smirking when she drew the number 3.

"Well, that worked itself out," Gohan said, eyebrows raised.

"Weren't you matched up with that red guy, Kibito?" I asked.

"Yeah. He looks tough, but I'm pretty sure I can take him," he replied confidently.

"Let's go watch Krillin's fight," I said, pulling him to the opening in the fighters' waiting area.

The guy he was fighting was a giant, currently taunting him and making fun of his height. I laughed when Krillin defeated him with ease, walking off the platform with his hands in his pockets.

My heart skipped a beat as the announcer called me up for the second fight.

"Good luck Mae. I know you'll win," Gohan said, quickly pecking my lips. He gave me a gentle nudge as I started toward the exit, seeing that Videl was already walking up the steps that lead to the stone platform.

All I could think about was how much that bitch had made me suffer. How she'd almost successfully ruined my relationship with Gohan. That was what drove me to walk up the steps and bow, despite the fact that I had zero respect for her.

"Ready to get your pride handed to you?" she taunted, smirking.

"Ready to die?" I said, venom dripping on my every word.

"Let the match begin!" the announcer yelled, cheers erupting form the crowd. Most of them were in favor of Videl, her being Mr. Satan's daughter and all.

As I assumed my fighting stance, there was one word that echoed in my mind. _Revenge._


	12. Chapter 12

"I will never forgive you for what you've done," I said, venom dripping on my every word. "When this fight is over you'll be wishing you were never born."

"Not even in your dreams," she smirked. "I'm going to enjoy beating you to a pulp."

Before I could respond she shot forward and threw her fist at me, snarling angrily when I evaded it with ease. She continued to throw frenzied attacks at me, but the more effort she put into her blows, the more I realized how weak humans were compared to Saiyans.

It felt like she was doing everything in slow motion, which made me think she wasn't really trying at first. But I could see her getting tired and breathing heavily, sweat beading down her forehead. I almost laughed out loud at the sight.

The first couple of minutes I was only on the defensive, testing out her abilities. Gohan had taught me that it was always better to test out your opponent's ability to fight and learn their fighting style, something they wouldn't be able to do if you were only defending yourself.

I could tell that wasn't even necessary anymore, not with Videl at least. I began to toy with her, throwing slow punches here and there, missing purposely. I had to admit, the whole thing was really amusing.

"I know that's not the best you can do Mae, come on and fight me for real! You're not the only one that's been holding back you know," Videl demanded, flying up into the air.

It was hard to tell if she was telling the truth or just bluffing, but I flew after her anyway.

"Fighting in the air won't make a difference, I'm just as good at flying as I am at walking," I said, glaring at her with an intense hatred in my eyes.

"Well I have a few tricks up my sleeve, so don't get overconfident," she smirked, smiling in anticipation.

Her words left me laughing out loud, me, overconfident? She was one to talk, Videl Satan was the queen of overconfidence, only surpassed by her father.

"We'll see who's the one laughing when this is over."

I leaned back into my defensive position, expecting another failed attempt at making contact with me. But she didn't fly forward and attack me, instead she closed her eyes and spread her arms out, small yellow orbs forming in each hand.

How the hell did she know how to control ki? More importantly, who taught her? It certainly wasn't her father, he still thought ki attacks were simple tricks done with lights and mirrors. Then it hit me. Gohan. He must've taught her that too, so she could improve on her flying by learning different ways to control energy in order to get used to it.

As annoying as it was for her to know how, I knew right away it would do her no good. When I read her energy level it had only risen a little bit, nothing that could ever come close to hurting me.

With a loud yell she threw the energy blasts in my direction, fighting hard to control them. I would give her one thing, she was persistent.

As they came close to me I hit them away, barley even feeling their heat against my hands. What little remained of them crashed down into the stone platform, making a small crater

"Nice try, but I think I'm finished toying with you, it's time to get serious," I said, leaving her gawking at me.

As I flew at her I saw fear on her face for the first time in my life, and it was rather refreshing. The whole time I had known her she had always worn an arrogant expression, thinking she was above everyone just because her father beat Cell. Which was all a lie of course, but she didn't know that at the time.

As I landed my first blow of the day I had only one objective; to make her feel more pain than she ever would in her entire life. But that also meant that I had to lower my ki drastically so I didn't kill her right away.

The sound her jaw made when my fist connected confirmed I had broken it, satisfying me immensely. She crashed onto the hard stone floor below, letting out a cry of pain that left everyone in the arena gasping in shock.

Cries of horror and disbelief erupted everywhere, no one being able to fathom how their savior's daughter could possibly be losing to an unknown girl.

Among the crowd I could hear Siri, Keiko, Marissa, Jason, and Chris cheering loudly for me, earning strange looks from everyone around them. ChiChi and Bulma were the loudest out of everyone, screaming for me to win.

Smiling at their support, I flew straight at Videl, who was getting up shakily and trying to fly.

"Oh no you don't!" I scolded, landing a powerful kick to her chest, making her choke out blood.

"W-Why?" she trembled, her knees giving in and slamming into the floor.

"Because, you infuriate me Videl. I have never felt so much hatred for one person, and I never will because there is no worse pain I could possibly go through than that which you put me through. You had no idea how dearly that would cost you, and I'm determined to show you."

With that I forced her up and connected my knee to her abdomen, causing her to spit out more blood, silent tears spilling down her cheeks as I let her collapse underneath me.

It wasn't even fighting really. It was more like slaughter, but she deserved that and much more, so I continued with my attack. She let out a blood curdling scream as I stomped on both of her arms, snapping them in the process.

I could see her eyes begin to start rolling back in their sockets, but she hadn't felt brought pain yet. I wanted her to suffer more, to end up dying today. But as I snatched her up by the leg and slammed her down on the floor, my conscience started yelling for me to stop.

I realized that a very powerful darkness had overcome me, a darkness that took over my mind and didn't plan on coming out until I had finished Videl. I found that I had been taking great pleasure in destroying her slowly, knowing that some of the damage I had done was irreparable. But it wasn't me. I would have never enjoyed making someone feel so much pain, even if they had caused me pain that was much worse than theirs.

I had coming here with my heart set on revenge, but not this. Not hurting her so much that she'd never be able to walk again. So I decided to fight it, but there was just too much hate. I couldn't handle it by myself, and whatever little part of my brain that was still sane watched helplessly as I charged up a Kamehameha strong enough to kill her.

It wasn't very hard tso charge up such a small amount of my energy, I was done in seconds. But right before I released the energy wave, I heard a familiar call out out my name.

"No Mae! Don't do this! I know you, the real you, and I know she would never dream of killing someone! Please, I know she hurt you, but that doesn't mean you can't be the better person and walk away!" he cried, his eyes pleading.

As his words reached my ears the blue energy in my hands dissolved, my body relaxing.

He was right, I couldn't kill her. I would never be able to forgive myself for doing something so cruel. Of course I still hated her for what she did, but not enough to kill her.

Turning back to the blood-soaked girl behind me, I picked her up carefully and laid her on the grass surrounding the stone ring, making her lose.

"Videl Satan has been thrown out of the ring! Let's have it for our winner, Mae!" the announcer yelled, raising my hand up. Some people began cheering, others stayed quiet, and some booed angrily.

I felt sick at what I had just done. How could I mistreat someone so badly? How could I call myself good after what I had just done?

Instead of walking over to the waiting area, I helped the medics get Videl onto a stretcher and realized that she was still conscious. She looked at me in a strange way as I insisted on taking her to the medical ward myself, and I could tell she was struggling to hold on.

As I walked silently down the building's corridors, she managed to choke out,"Why are you helping me? I thought you hated me, isn't that why you made me suffer so much?"

In truth, that was exactly the reason for my cruel behavior. The darkness that had overcome me however, was in part her fault. If she had never put me through all that pain in the past, I would have never had such a strong reason for returning it. But it was also my fault for letting it happen, for letting it poison my brain with hate and desire for revenge.

"I wasn't myself out there, during the fight. Something I couldn't control took over my mind, and I'm being honest when I say I never had any intentions to harm you so badly. But you also harmed me Videl, in a way you'll never be able to understand." I replied, reaching the door that lead to the medical center.

"I- I know. I'm s-" she cut off as she lost hold of consciousness and relaxed into the stretcher.

What was she about to say? She wasn't trying to apologize to me, was she? I would have never expected her to say something like that to anyone. Maybe it was just because I had knocked her around so much during our fight.

As I began to carry her inside and turn her in to a doctor, I felt a rush of wind on my back and suddenly someone was behind me.

"Mae! I've been looking for you everywhere! Your energy was hard to trace since it's not at its normal level," Gohan said, sounding relieved to have found me.

"Sorry I was just helping her get some medical attention, and I guess my mind's been too occupied to raise it back up," I explained, thanking a nurse for taking Videl and setting her on a bed.

"I'm not feeling very well, you should get back to the arena, it's almost time for your match," I urged, gently pushing him out the door and into the hallway.

"Look, I didn't come here to accuse you or to express any anger towards you. I know she did a lot of damage to your heart, and I understand that you would want revenge, I know that better than anyone. But I also know that you lost yourself sometime during that match. I don't have anything against you though, just in case you have any doubts."

"Thanks Gohan. You're right though, I don't really know how to explain it, but all the hatred and resentment I felt towards her had been building up inside me as the days passed by. As our match began everything that had been bottled up inside of me was released, and I didn't have the strength to control it."

He seemed to be mulling something over as I spoke, nodding his head as if he completely understood what I was talking about.

"Mae, I think I might know why you acted like you did. I'm not very sure yet, so I need you to help me out," he said, looking me in the eyes.

"Ok, whatever you ask I'll try to answer," I promised, not really understanding what he meant but willing to comply.

"As I felt your ki during the fight, I could tell you were suppressing a lot of your energy, but that started to change as the fight progressed. I could feel you grow angrier and begin to lose control, but at least you still had enough sense to keep yourself from killing her. The more you hit her, the more I could sense a strange fluctuation in your ki. Then I saw your eyes flash green for a slightest second, before they returned to normal."

How could my eyes turn green out of nowhere? What did that have to do with losing control?

"I'm not following you Gohan, maybe you were just seeing things," I said.

"No, I'm one hundred percent sure that I saw your eyes change color. The only explanation for that would be that you were on the brink of turning into a Super Saiyan."

Me, a Super Saiyan? How was that even possible? I thought it required rigorous training and a desperate situation to become Super Saiyan. I'd only been training for a month!

"Videl hurt you more than you thought. I know it's hard to believe, but I think there was enough anger and need that you had for you to be able to transform. All it would've taken was a small push, and you would have been able to go Super," he explained, looking more convinced then ever.

"It did feel like my body was trying to break out of some kind of restraint, like there was something holding me back and I wanted to get out desperately so I could destroy whoever had trapped me there," I conceded, looking down as I talked.

"We're here," Gohan said, making me snap my head up in alarm.

"Already?" I asked, not wanting him to let go of my arm.

"It's alright Mae, it'll only take a few minutes," he smiled assuredly.

"Ok, be careful!" I called as he walked towards the ring. He smiled and nodded his head, turning to face his red-skinned opponent.

"Wow, you were awesome out there Mae!" a voice said behind me, making me jump. "Oh it's you Krillin," I sighed in relief after realizing he was the one that's had spoken.

"Yeah, sorry for scaring you. How did you manage to gain so much power in such a short amount of time?" he asked curiously, Goku and Vegeta suddenly appearing next to him.

"Yeah, how did you get so strong? I've never seen anything like it," Goku added, seeming more excited than curious.

"Well I don't really know, I guess I must've done some training in the past with my father since a lot of the things Gohan taught me had come easily," I said, not being all that certain of the answer myself.

"Of course she's trained before you idiot, no one can get that strong overnight," Vegeta snapped, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"Well I don't know if you noticed it, but her ki had a significant change during the fight. It kinda felt like she was turning into a Super Saiyan if you ask me, not to mention her eyes flashed green when she was busy pummeling the other girl," Goku shrugged, earning a glare from him.

"That's nonsense, she couldn't possibly transform into a Super Saiyan after such a short time of training! She doesn't even have a motive to become one!" he argued in the stubborn manner that was quickly becoming frustrating.

"Actually, the girl I was fighting just happened to be someone that has caused me a lot of pain and anger in the past. I hated her more than I thought was even possible, and all the anger I had been suppressing just exploded out of me, causing me to lose control and almost kill her. If it hadn't been for Gohan I would have killed her for sure," I explained, my voice fading as I remembered how his voice had been lifeline, and I had clutched onto it as hard as I could. It's was because of him that I didn't do something that would've haunted me for the rest of my life.

"See, I knew I wasn't crazy!" Goku grinned.

"That doesn't prove anything Kakarrot, how do we know she's not making all of this up and taking us for fools?" Vegeta demanded, refusing to believe me.

"Why would I lie about something like that? Besides, Gohan was the one that had presented the idea to me," I protested, my patience wearing thin.

He shook his head and growled in denial, walking away with his arms still crossed.

"Ok...so, you guys wanna watch Gohan's match?" Krillin asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, let's go see it," Goku agreed, pulling us to the entrance where we could get a better view.

When we got there Gohan seemed to be talking to his opponent Kibito, both of them looking intrigued in what the other had to say. As we continued watching I heard a loud yell from the crowd that sounded a lot like Sharpener. Squinting to get a better look, I realized it was indeed Sharpener's voice that was coming from the large crowd of spectators.

Turning my attention back to the match, I couldn't help but gasp in surprise as Gohan removed his sunglasses and turban. What was he doing? I thought he'd wanted to keep his identity a secret!

"Why'd he remove his goofy headwear?" Krillin asked, cocking an eyebrow in question.

"Your guess would be better than mine," I replied, shrugging.

Right after I finished speaking Gohan's ki began to increase immensely, feeling just like it had when he demonstrated what a Super Saiyan looked like earlier. His whole body glowed with the same golden aura, his eyes and hair changing color. The sheer power of his transformation didn't fail to amaze me just as much as it had the first time, that is, until I realized his energy level had begun to rise higher than before. The stone ring started to shake from all the strain being put on it, pieces beginning hover in the air and break free of the ring.

"Wow," I whispered in awe as his power grew larger and larger, seemingly to no end. He was more amazing than I had ever thought possible, his ki rising so high it was overwhelming.

"Looks like Gohan has been keeping up on his training in these past seven years," Goku said, nodding his head in approval.

"Is his opponent really that strong? I don't see why he has the need to turn into a Super Saiyan 2," Krillin commented. "But I think he's even stronger than when he fought Cell."

"I sure hope so," someone said as they approached us, their voice having a strange softness to it.

"Oh, it's him again," Krillin muttered as the same purple man from before emerged from the shadows.

"He's the one we've been looking for, not you," Shin said more to himself than anyone else.

"Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that you've been looking for Gohan this whole time?" I asked.

"Not necessarily, at first my companion and I thought it was Goku we were looking for. Of course now I see that Gohan is more than enough," he answered.

"What do you want from him?" I demanded, getting tired of not knowing what was going on.

"You'll see soon enough," he responded, averting my gaze and keeping his eyes on the match.

My patience was wearing thin at this person's mysteries, but I held my tongue since I didn't want a repeat of the incident that had happened earlier. As Gohan let out a loud yell his power still managed to surge to unimaginable heights, cutting off abruptly as a bulky man with a giant M painted on his forehead suddenly appeared at his back, holding a strange object in his hands.

Smiling greedily, he plunged the pointy end of the object into his back. The pain-filled scream that came from Gohan moments after sent chills down my spine. His energy began dropping at an alarming rate, it was as if it was being sucked out of him.

At first I did nothing but stare in disbelief. After all that power he'd had, how could he be losing it all so quickly? Why did that crazy pale-faced man want it?

But then my brain began to react to the horrific event that was playing out in front of my eyes. "Gohan!" I cried, starting off in his direction before being stopped by a pair of strong hands.

As a snapped my head back to see who it was, my face contorted in rage. "What the hell is wrong with you Goku? Don't you see your son getting killed out there? Don't you care about him at all?" I shouted. "At least let me go help him!"

"I'm sorry but I can't permit him to do that. This is the only way we can find the great evil that resides somewhere on this planet," Shin apologized, his arms out in front of him, face sweating and concentrated. "He's incredibly difficult to control, I don't know if I can hold him much longer."

"Gohan can't defend himself because you're somehow restraining him?" I thundered, the anger inside me increasing. I didn't want to see him suffer anymore, I would do anything to make it stop. I had to help him, there was nobody else that would. Seeing him suffer like that made me feel like someone was burning me alive and dragging me across a sea of razors at the same time, making me crumple to the floor in pain.

"No, Gohan! You can't leave me, not like this! I have to help you," I cried as Goku picked me up and gripped my body firmly.

"I'm sorry Mae, it hurts me as much as it hurts you to see this happen, but the Supreme Kai assured me that he's gonna be ok," murmured in reassurance.

"Supreme Kai? I thought the highest kai was the Grand Kai," I said through my teeth, feeling as lost as I had when I was fighting Videl. "If you really cared about him you would be out there right now beating the shit out of that guy hurting Gohan," I accused, struggling with all my might. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it, looking down in shame.

Another terrifying scream came from the direction of the ring, sounding more pained than the first. That was all it took for me to lose complete control.

Letting out a scream that shook the whole building, I felt my entire body begin to shake my vision going white for a few seconds before clearing up again. I felt my energy being pushed up way beyond my limits, going almost as high as Gohan's first transformation. Goku lost his grip on me as I continued to scream, watching my body being surrounded by a golden aura and my muscle mass increasing. Once I was finished, I saw nothing but Gohan and the man that was draining his energy.

Fueled by rage and concern for the person I loved, I rushed to his aid, almost reaching him before I was once again stopped by Goku.

"Let go of me," I growled, turning around to face him.

"You know I can't do that," he responded cautiously, not wanting to set me off.

"Well you will if you want your son to live," I said, breaking his grip on my arm.

"I don't want to hurt you, but if the Supreme Kai says this is important then I can't let you go," he argued, stepping to block my way. Before I could react I heard a soft moan and the sound of someone dropping onto the hard ring floor.

"Gohan!" I cried frantically, completely forgetting about Goku. As I reached his now unconscious body, I caught sight of the man that had stolen his energy and his companion flying off. I was about to go after them before my body collapsed in fatigue, feeling the energy-draining consequences of transforming into a Super Saiyan.

When I woke up I was in Gohan's arms, and apparently we were in the air with Kibito leading the way.

"Gohan? You're alive? What happened?" I asked softly, my eyebrows creasing in confusion.

"You did it. You transformed into a Super Saiyan," he replied, sounding like he could barely believe it himself. "You made history Mae. You became the first female Super Saiyan."

"I did?" I asked dumbly, finding it hard to focus on anything but the heat his arms gave off beneath my body.

"Yes, you were amazing. I don't think I've ever seen anything more beautiful in my life," he marveled, staring at me longingly. "Even when I was on the brink of passing out I thought you were beautiful. For a moment I thought you were an angel that had come to take me to heaven."

"That's what I thought about you I when I first met you," I smiled, curling up in his chest. "Why are we following Kibito?"

"Its kind of hard to explain, I'll tell you when we get there," he said, his face turning grim. Something was wrong, I just knew it.

"Gohan, I need to know what's going on. And who was that guy that took your energy?" I asked, refusing to be kept in the dark about this.

He sighed in defeat and told me how the guy with the M on his forehead had stolen his energy to take it to his master, a wizard named Babidi. He needed the energy for him to be able to release a creature called Majin Buu, who was powerful enough to destroy entire galaxies without batting an eyelash. His father, Bibidi, had created him long ago, for the purpose of causing chaos wherever they went. He ended up sealing Buu inside of an egg that requires a tremendous amount of energy to open, and with Gohan's energy in their hands it would only be a matter of time before they gathered enough to release him.

"It's that bad?" I asked after some time had passed.

"Yes, which is why I'm having Piccolo escort you to the lookout where you'll be safe," he informed me.

"Hold on, I'm not going anywhere without you," I frowned, immediately disliking the idea of him being in danger. Watching him go through so much pain was a hundred times worse than watching Videl kiss him right in front of my face, and I was not going to go through that again.

"Listen to me, if you don't stay at the lookout then you'll be in danger too. I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt," he said, holding me close.

"Nothing is going to happen to me, you have to have more faith in me Gohan," I insisted.

"But I-"

"We're here!" Kibito interrupted from the front, pointing at five figures hovering above an odd structure. The figures turned out to be Goku, Vegeta, Krillin, Piccolo, and the Supreme Kai.

"Does she know?" Goku asked, nodding when Gohan said yes. "I guess this is your first adventure with the Z-fighters, well actually, I think you should become one."

"Wow I'd be honored! And I'm sorry for going crazy on you, I wasn't thinking straight and I was so intent on helping Gohan that I wouldn't listen to logic anymore," I rambled, stopping only when he embraced me and said, "I forgive you."

"Oh... Ok," I stuttered, blushing at his enthusiasm.

"Cut the emotional crap and let's get to finding this Babidi character, whoever he is," Vegeta said impatiently, already flying down to hide in the rocks below.

"Yeah Dad, let's not forget who's girlfriend she is," Gohan muttered, flying after Vegeta.

After finding a suitable hiding place to spy on Babidi and his minions, we settled down and watched as the two men from the tournament suffered gruesome deaths from the hands of Babidi.

A red man with pointy ears and black horns protruding from his head stood next to him, and it seemed like he was staring straight at us. After a few tense moments he sped to our hiding place and attacked, spitting at us for a reason I could not fathom.

"Did you pathetic fools really think I wouldn't find you?" he asked in amusement.

"Be careful, we're not dealing with just anyone here. That's Dabura, King of the Demons. His spit is deadly, it turns whatever it touches into solid stone!" Supreme Kai warned loudly.

"What?" I shrieked in disgust, bracing myself for any incoming attacks.

"Stay close to me!" Gohan commanded, flying in front of me protectivley.

Before I could process what was going on Piccolo, Kibito, and Krillin had been turned to stone, and suddenly Dabura's red face was a couple of feet from mine, grinning evily.

"Oh shit," I said as I closed my eyes and waited for his wet spit to touch my body and turn me me to stone.

**I apologize for the delay, my computer didn't want to cooperate so I had to get it fixed, but I wrote as soon as I had the chance. Thank you guys for all your wonderful reviews, they're what encourage me to continue writing! Bye, hope to see you on the next update that will hopefully be soon! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

"No!" a voice screamed as something hard slammed into my body before the spit could touch me.

My breath was knocked out of my lungs as I fell from the air, only to be caught by a pair of strong arms. "Mae, are you ok? I told you to stay close to me," Gohan breathed, hugging me closely.

"I-I'll be fine," I answered shakily, still shocked at the fact that I hadn't been turned to stone.

"I'm so sorry, I should've never taken my eyes off of you," Gohan apologized, kissing my forehead.

"Its not your fault, I should've been more careful. Besides, he's stopped attacking everyone, look," I pointed out, gesturing for him to look back. Sure enough, Dabura and Babidi had gone inside, another guy saying something to the Supreme Kai.

We followed the others as they landed on the floor and called us over. "We're going in there, but we need all the help we can get, so you should come too," the Supreme Kai said.

"I'll go in with you guys, but Mae isn't coming," Gohan said.

"Don't listen to him, I'm coming whether he likes it or not," I cut in, receiving a look from him.

"It's your choice," Supreme Kai answered, referring to Gohan.

"You're not coming and that's final, I'm not gonna put you through anymore danger," he said firmly, blocking the entrance.

"Gohan, even if you force me to leave I'm just going to come back and go in when you're not looking," I said stubbornly. I wasn't going to let him rob me of my first adventure just because he was concerned about me. I could handle myself.

"No, Mae-"

"Let her come Gohan, besides, she's probably better off being here protected by you than somewhere you can't keep an eye on her," Goku said.

"Fine, but give me your hand and don't let go, this time I'm not letting anyone get near you," Gohan sighed in defeat, locking his fingers around mine.

The inside of the building was strange, and as we entered an elevator we found that most of it was actually underground.

We entered a round room that was empty until the weird man with spikes on the upper half of his body that had been talking to the Supreme Kai appeared from the elevator.

We soon learned that there were many levels in which we would have to fight different opponents, and the more we advanced the tougher the opponent. The first person we'd have to beat turned out to be the spiky guy, or Pui Pui as he introduced himself.

"Alright, which one of you guys is willing to take him on?" Supreme Kai asked, looking bewildered at the fact that all of us had raised our hands.

"I'd forgotten how much Saiyans love to fight," he mumbled. "You can choose among yourselves I guess."

"Alright, let's do rock paper scissors," Goku said, hands ready.

After Vegeta won we stood back and watched the Saiyan Prince completely dominate Pui Pui, not looking like he was making the slightest amount of effort.

The room suddenly began to change, and I instantly felt the strain on my body rise as if gravity was pulling me down with greater force. It was hard, but I managed to stay on my feet in this strange new place. It was like we had been transported to another planet.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking up at Gohan.

"Babidi used his magic to take us to Pui Pui's home planet because he thought the fact that the gravity here is ten times greater than the gravity on earth would give him the advantage," he replied, more interested in the fight than my question.

"Ten times the gravity on Earth?" I mumbled, feeling dizzy. No wonder my body felt so heavy! But why did everyone else look unaffected by the change?

"Don't any of you feel the pull on your body?" I asked.

"We're all used to training under much greater amounts of gravity, I can't even feel the difference," Gohan answered, still distracted. They were even more incredible than I thought.

I turned back to Vegeta's fight only to find that his opponent was getting a very bad beating. As he delivered the final blow, the setting began to change again and we were back in the room with the elevator.

The floor began to shift and we were suddenly plunging down until we reached the second floor.

There we found an ugly blob that seemed to be alive, with claws that were sharper than knives. After another round of rock-paper-scissors, Goku ended up fighting the gross slimy thing. I had to admit I was relieved that I wasn't the one that would have to fight with something so gross.

After a bit we were once again transported to another planet, but this one was pitch black. I couldn't even see the back of my hand as I raised it up to my eyes and squinted.

The monster was stupid enough to think that if we couldn't see him, we wouldn't be able to fight. But he couldn't have been more wrong. Even I knew this, and I had only been training for about a month or so. I could feel the vibration of his movements in the air, not to mention his energy was easy to track since he didn't seem to know how to disguise it.

I jumped a little when Goku turned Super Saiyan out of nowhere, his power amazing. My face turned up in disgust when the hideous green blob began sucking the light aiming from Goku's yellow aura, taking him along with it.

"Hahaha, keep it up, the more light you give off the stronger I become!" the monster cackled, his stomach growing larger and larger.

"Watch out Dad!" Gohan cautioned, motioning for him to stop.

"It's alright Gohan, I have an idea," he said, smiling mischievously.

"What's he doing? He's gonna get himself killed!" I yelled, looking at the three men in front of me frantically. "Well, aren't you gonna help him?"

"Relax, will you? Kakarrot may seem like a complete idiot but he knows what he's doing," Vegeta replied haughtily.

I didn't understand how they could be so calm about this, he could die!

I sighed in relief when the monster ate more and more light as Goku powered up, and eventually exploded since he couldn't hold all the power he had gained. I tried not to throw up as I saw it happen, and luckily I was able to keep down the food in my stomach.

"That is so gross," I mumbled, hiding my face in Gohan's shirt.

"How is it possible for you to make me laugh at a time like this?" Gohan asked in between chuckles.

"You're messed up, that was nasty! Unlike you, I'm not used to seeing someone die such a gruesome death," I objected, crossing my arms.

"I'm not used to seeing it. It's more like I've learned to store these kind of memories deep in the back of my brain so I never have to think about them. You can never truly get used to things like that, they'll haunt you one way or another, whether it be in your dreams or your thoughts, you can never forget."

"Sorry if I said something wrong," I said after a while, feeling guilty for not understanding before. I had never really thought about it that way. "If it makes you feel any better now I'm never going to forget what I just witnessed."

"It does make me feel a little better actually," he said, half smiling.

I gave him a look before the floor began to fall at a steady rate, a clanking noise echoing across the room as we stopped.

"That's gonna take some getting used to," I muttered, loosening my grip on Gohan's hand. During the descend I had tightened my grip on it so much it had begun to look a bit purple from the lack of blood flow.

"Look, here comes our next opponent," Goku said, pointing at the door on the other side of the room.

"You guys are treating all of this like a game," Supreme Kai stammered, looking overwhelmed. "Your energy supply seems to be endless!"

"Well, what can I say, we love to fight," he shrugged, eyes fixed on the opening doors of the elevator.

When I saw who it was I felt a shudder run down my spine, causing me to gasp a little. It was Dabura, the same demon that had come dangerously to turning me to stone earlier.

"Time for revenge," Gohan growled, taking a step towards the red demon.

"Not so fast, we agreed that the one who got to fight was going to be determined by a game of rock-paper-scissors," Vegeta reminded him, blocking his path.

"Fine, but whoever wins better give this guy a beating that he'll never forget," he snapped, hands poised and ready.

"That's something you don't have to worry about," he replied, smirking.

To my surprise Gohan won, smirking triumphantly as he made his way over to Dabura who was waiting patiently.

"You guys have been lucky enough to make it to this last round, but don't expect it to be as easy as the previous ones. The King of Demons is not one to be trifled with," he said with an eerie calm.

"You might be a challenge to those weaklings we just plowed through, but I'm sure I can handle an amateur like you any day," Gohan responded, still smirking.

"Hn, we'll just see about that you over-confident fool," he said, getting into a protective stance.

"Promise me you won't get yourself hurt," I whispered to Gohan before backing away.

"I promise," he smiled.

As he turned around to face Dabura, he ripped off his cape and threw it on the ground, a clever move on his part. If he would've left it on Dabura could've easily used it against him, but I knew Gohan had been in enough fights to know that would be a stupid mistake.

My stomach knotted tightly as they lunged at each other, making me let out a small whimper. I didn't ever want to see Gohan in so much pain again. If I had thought what Videl did to me was painful, I didn't know the meaning. The rage and hurt I felt during my transformation was so intense it just exploded out of my body all at once. I never wanted to go through something like that again, and I intended to do whatever it took so I wouldn't have to.

As they exchanged punches and blocks, I noticed Gohan obviously had the upper hand. He had kept his training up in those seven years his father was gone in anticipation of such a big threat to the earth.

He was smirking again as he turned Super Saiyan, making it even harder for Dabura to hit him. "What's wrong big guy? Are you not used to being shown up by a mere monkey?" he teased, making his movements even faster.

"Who said I was using my full power?" Dabura proded, smiling slightly.

"What are you holding back? Five percent?" he snorted. To prove his point he connected with Dabura's jaw as he swung his fist in a powerful uppercut. The sound of the blow was worse than the way he yelped in pain. It sounded like thunder had struck his face instead of a fist.

"That's my boy," Goku said, clearly proud of his son's power. I could see it in his eyes, how much he missed him too. Goku may have seemed like he was too dense to know how much his family had missed him while he was gone, but underneath all the smiles and carefree laughter, there was a man that missed them too.

"He's gotten even stronger than the time he fought Cell," Vegeta admitted as he watched Gohan use Dabura as a punching bag. Even the proud prince of Saiyans knew how strong he was.

"But I'm even stronger," he continued, raising his head up haughtily. Damn him, I should have known he wasn't one to accept the fact that there was actually someone out there stronger than him.

For some reason Dabura's head perked up at this, an idea already starting to form in his mind. "Wait! Please, I surrender! Have mercy, I was blinded by my pride before, but now I see! Now I see that I cannot defeat you. If you let me go, my master and I will leave this planet and never come back," he pleaded.

"No Gohan, don't fall for his tricks, I know he's planning something!" I yelled. I desperately hoped his kind and gentle nature wouldn't mess with his mind. He couldn't let him go, he had to finish it then and there.

"Fine, go crawl in whatever hole you came out of and get your master. But if I ever see you again I swear it will go much worse the second time around," he spat.

No, what had he done? That was exactly what the demon wanted him to do! What the hell was wrong with him?

"No! Gohan don't you see, he wanted you to let him go so he could do whatever he had planned!" I cried. But I was too late. By the time he changed his mind and turned around, he was gone.

"What's going on Spreme Kai? Do you have any idea what Dabura plans to do?" Goku asked. He obviously hadn't agreed with what Gohan had one either.

"No, I'm afraid I don't. But he's a clever man, and knowing that, I don't think it's gonna be something we like," he replied. He was thinking hard, trying to figure out why he had suddenly surrendered and left.

Before I had time to try and figure it out as well, Vegeta roared in what sounded like pain, his hands clutching his head as he let out continuous screams.

"What's happening to him?" I cried frantically, his screams beginning to scare me. I had never thought Vegeta would be one to scream, so he must've been going through something terrible. But what?

"I don't know!" Gohan said, looking as confused as I felt.

"Oh no," Supreme Kai said quietly. A look of fear and concern came across his face as he looked up at us. I instantly knew he was aware of what was going on.

"What, what is it?" I asked, shaken by the ever increasing screams coming from the prince.

"It's Babidi, he's trying to take control of him like he did Dabura! Quick, we need to help Vegeta before it's too late!" he urged.

"How is that even possible?" I asked, but the answer appeared in my mind before he could say it. Babidi was a wizard. So he was using magic.

"Babidi's using magic to try and control him. He can do that if a person has the slightest trace of evil in them, and I'm afraid Vegeta isn't completely pure if you know what I mean."

I knew he was right. I knew it before he had to tell me. Vegeta wasn't completely rid of his evil nature, so I knew it was only a matter of time before he was under Babidi's spell.

"Fight it Vegeta, I know you can. You can't just let a lowly wizard control you, the Prince of all Saiyans! No one can," Goku yelled in determination. He and Vegeta might have been rivals, but to him they were also friends. He didn't want to see him turn evil again, especially since he had a family that needed him back home too.

"I'm t-trying! It's too much, I c-can't..." his sentence was cut off by another scream, this one more pained and desperate than the others.

"Yes you can Vegeta! Since when do you just give up? Ever since the first time I met you you never gave up, not even if you knew the situation was impossible. Now fight it!" he commanded.

And fight he did. But in the end it was all too much for him, and Babidi had gained control of the proud Saiyan Prince.

An M identical to all of Babidi's henchmen had appeared on his forehead, calling with an evil smile that scared even me. "I am going to to kill you Kakarrot, and after I do, I'm coming for them," he said, cocking his head in me and Gohan's direction.

"Vegeta, listen to me, you aren't yourself, right now. Babidi is controlling you, you have to fight it! I don't want to fight you, not while you're like that," Goku said.

"I didn't change, I returned to the way I was before. A heartless killing machine. And we're going to fight whether you like it or not Kakarrot because if we don't, many people will die today," he threatened, smiling at the thought of killing someone. "Babidi, transport us to the World Martial Arts Tournament, where we were supposed to have been fighting right now." Sure enough, after a few seconds we found ourselves standing on the stone ring of the Budokai.

"Vegeta! How could you do this to yourself? Your family is here! Trunks and Bulma are in those areas somewhere, if we fight here we could kill them! Do you really want that?" Goku yelled, trying to knock some sense into him.

For a second he seemed to change his mind, but his face quickly returned to its evil glare. "They mean nothing to me now! I couldn't care less about heir pitiful lives!" he snarled.

"Look at you, how completely lost you are. I had come to expect mmore from you Vegeta, but I guess you never actually changed. You're still as blind and arrogant as ever. What a waste, to see what the Prince of Saiyans has been reduced to, you're nothing but one of Babidi's goons now," Goku said in disgust.

"You think I want to hear your stupid lectures? Can't you see I don't give a shit about what you say? Now I'm going to count to three, and if you don't agree to fight me then I'll blow up the crowd that's watching us."

"You wouldn't!" Goku growled.

"I most certainly would, just watch," he grinned darkly. With that he raised his arm and pointed it at the crowd, a yellow glow beginning to form in his palm. "Three."

I closed my eyes as he released the ki ball in his hand and it exploded in the heart of the stands, screams filling the arena as the people that hadn't been hit ran for their lives. Siri, Marissa, Keiko, Jason, Chris, they had all bee sitting right where the ki ball had hit. They were probably already dead, along with hundreds of other innocent people.

Luckily everyone else had been further away from that area, so I didn't have to worry about them. But it still hurt. The pain ripped inside my heart, but for Gohan's sake I managed to keep quiet.

As they spoke Vegeta released another ki ball, this time hitting the opposite end of the arena.

"Stop! That's enough Vegeta! I'll fight you, just stop killing all these innocent people!" Goku cried, stepping forward. "As long as we go somewhere else, I'll give you the fight you want."

"Fine, so long as I get to show you how a true Saiyan fights," he said.

"Wait! I can't let you two do this! If you fight, all the damage Vegeta gives you will be turned into energy to free Majin Buu!" Supreme Kai intervened, stepping in between them.

"Get out of the way Supreme whatever, before I blast you into bits like I did all those pitiful humans," Vegeta commanded angrily.

"I can't do that. I'll do whatever it takes to prevent this from happening, even if it means risking my own life. I did not go through years of searching just to have everything ruined because you wanted to fight him," he declared, not moving from where he was.

He had a point though, if Goku and Vegeta fought now, Babidi would probably get enough energy to resurrect Buu. I realized that all of this was what Dabura had planned, everything was part of his plan. He knew Vegeta would go straight for Goku if Babidi earned possession of his mind, and he knew that it would lead to an enormous amount of energy for ttheir cause.

"I'm sorry Supreme Kai, but I have to. If I don't do what he wants he'll continue to kill all these innocent people, and I don't want that to happen," Goku said apologetically. I could tell it hurt him to say this, but it was what he thought best for eveyone else. It was hard to believe that someone could be so incredibly selfless and caring. I had only seen that kind of behavior in one other person, and that was Gohan. I could see now that he had gotten it from him.

"But-"

"Come on Supreme Kai, we have to trust him. My father knows what he's doing, and he's well aware of the consequences this could have," Gohan cut in, putting a hand on his back.

"F-Fine, but if Majin Buu is released because you couldn't handle this it's all on you," he said in a last attempt to change their minds.

"Let's go find my mom and the others so we can fly them up to the lookout where they'll be safe," Gohan called as he jumped into the air.

Supreme Kai and I followed his lead, finding the trying to leave the arena among all the confusion and rubble.

"Hey guys, up here," I waved, landing next to Bulma.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here! That maniac came a little too close to blowing us up if you ask me," ChiChi cried, running up and hugging Gohan.

"Tell me something Mae, was that Vegeta?" Bulma asked, a confused look on her face.

"I'm sorry to say it was," I said gently, knowing it would upset her.

"I- I can't believe it, I thought he had changed. I thought he cared about his family! He almost killed us! " she cried in denial, crumpling to the ground. She was taking the news pretty hard, so Gohan hoisted her in his arms and fales her to the lookout while I was stuck taking ChiChi, Oolong, and Master Roshi.

If it wasn't for my strength I would've never been able to take them all the way, especially since they were arguing and squirming around the whole time.

Once we got there I set everyone down and waited for Gohan while he went to get Dende and Mr. Popo. He explained everything to them before saying he had to leave with Supreme Kai so they could hunt down Babidi.

"What! You can't just leave! What am I supposed to do?" I protested, standing up.

"Mae, you have to understand this is important. If we find him in time we could kill him and our problem would be solved," he reasoned.

"But I-" I was cut off when he kissed me, melting all my worries away. As our tongues tangled passionately, Supreme Kai cleared his throat in discomfort.

"Sorry if I interrupt, but we have to get going Gohan," he said, diverting his eyes so he stared at the floor as he spoke.

"He's right," he whispered into my ear after breaking away. "I'll be back soon." I didn't want to let him go, I wanted him to stay with me and never let go. But the earth's fate was more important, so I watched his figure grow smaller and smaller as he flew further away until I could no longer see him.

"You poor girl, did Gohan run off on you again? I know the feeling," Bulma sympathized, walking up from behind. "He doesn't know what he's leaving behind."

"Thanks, and I guess that's gonna happen a lot from now on," I said, taking a seat on the steps that lead to the lookout's palace. "But he has a good reason to do it."

"There is never a good enough reason to leave a girl waiting," she said, sitting down next to me.

"Sounds like your trying to make me feel better when I should be the one comforting you," I smiled, enjoying her company. It was comforting to be able to talk to somebody that could relate to what I was going through.

"Over the years I've learned that when it comes to Vegeta you never know what to expect. It's the same way with all Saiyans, they're full of surprises."

"Well, I guess Gohan's no different then," I sighed, fiddling with the ends of my hair. The truth hurt, but I could do nothing to change it.

"Hey, it's ok. Gohan's a great guy, he really is. He's honest, kind, and loving. Not to mention he's quite the looker," she smiled.

"Yeah, he is isn't he?" I agreed. "By the way, how come my mom had to stay in West City for so long?"

"A couple of days before she was supposed to leave we got a last-minute call from another big company that wanted to make a deal with Capsule Corp. She was desperately needed so she decided to stay until it was all over with, but she really did miss you," Bulma said.

"Too bad she's decided to keep my real identity a secret from me my whole life! I'm seventeen years old Bulma, seventeen! How could she have let me think I was some kind of freak all these years?" I cried, getting upset all of a sudden.

"I think she was just trying to protect you, after all, I doubt you would have believed her if she told you your father was actually an alien from a far away planet. Kana is a good woman, I've known her for fifteen years and she's been the most trustworthy employee I've ever had."

I stayed quiet for a few moments as I processed what Bulma had told me. Maybe she was right, maybe my mother really had been trying to protect me. But even if I wouldn't have believed her she still should've told me. At least I would've believed her now since I had proof that Saiyans existed.

"I have an idea, why don't we go find her and bring her up to the lookout? I don't think you want her to be down there if Majin Buu happens to reawaken," Bulma suggested. It wasn't such a bad idea either.

"Alright, let's go find her. We have some talking to do anyway," I agreed, standing up.

As I flew back down to earth I thought about all the things I wanted to ask her. I wanted to know more about my father and how he'd gotten here. I wanted to know how they had met and the real reason for his death.

"Is she in the Capsule Corp. building?" I asked Bulma over my shoulder.

"Yeah, she should be in her old office," she answered.

Sure enough, when we got to West City my mother was busy filling in a huge stack of paperwork. She looked completely taken aback when she saw me fly in through the window, despite the fact she had seen other people fly before.

"Mae? Bulma? What's going on?"

**Thanks for all the continued support and I want everyone to know I couldn't be more grateful for your wonderful reviews! I had hoped to make this chapter a little longer, but I changed my mind at the last second and decided to move it to the next chapter. Until next time, bye!**


	14. Chapter 14

"H-How can you fly?" she asked me, backing up into her desk. The shock in her voice was clearly audible, if anything she sounded a bit frightened.

"I'll tell you everything if you do, and this time I want the truth," I said, my tone serious. Right from the first time she told me my father had died I knew there was something wrong. At seven years old I was still a small child, but even then I had known my father was different from other people. I'd seen him do things a normal person could never have done, so when I found out he had died in a factory explosion it took a while for me to finally believe it.

"What do you mean Mae?" she asked, even though she already knew what I was asking of her.

"Look Mom, I've just about had enough of all the lies you've been feeding me all these years about Father. It is really so much to ask that I know the truth about him? I'm his daughter for crying out loud, I deserve to know!" I said, anger suddenly filling my voice. I was sick of all her bullshit, she had no right to keep me from knowing what really happened to my father!

"Mae, calm down, I'm sure she'll be willing to tell you the truth if you tell her everything that's happened over the last few months," Bulma intervened, giving me warning look.

"She right honey. Even if I don't tell you, from what I've seen you probably already have a good idea about the truth behind your father. I'm willing to listen to what you have to say, and in turn I'll give you the information you seek," she said in compliance, her look softening.

I took a deep breath examinedat the woman that had raised me. She had worked hard to keep the both of us under a roof with food on the table, and she had always come through no matter how bad the situation. It wasn't until that very moment that I realized how much I appreciated her, how much I looked up to her.

"I'm sorry for sounding so harsh, but I have been waiting a long time for this day, and I was determined to find out who my father really was," I whispered as I embraced her tightly, hugging her against my chest. "I'm going to take you to the lookout, it's not safe for any of us down here. But I have to fly to get there, so hold on tight."

I held each woman in one of my arms, shooting up to the lookout before either of them could protest. "Wait! Mae, please don't drop me! Oh Kami, slow down!" my mother screeched at the top of her lungs, shutting her eyes tightly as we shot up into the sky.

I laughed at her reaction, making sharp twists and turns to scare her even more. Eventually her voice gave out and all she could do was constrict her arms around my midsection and pray we didn't fall.

"Relax Mom, we're here," I said just before touching down on the lookout, gently placing both of them on the floor.

"Let's never do that again!" she said breathily, trying to regain her composure by sitting down on the floor.

"Sorry to break it to you Kana, but if you ever want to leave this place you're gonna have to fly with Mae again," Bulma said, grinning mischievously when my mother's eyes widened in fright.

"I'll try to take it easy on you the next time around, but she's right, you can only leave by flight," I confirmed.

"Wonderful," she muttered, slumping down in defeat.

"Now, let's get down to business. It's a long story, so I suggest you get comfortable," I said, crouching down beside her.

After telling her everything right from the moment I first met Gohan to what I knew about Majin Buu, her reaction was surprisingly calm. It was as if I was retelling something she already knew, with a couple of exceptions.

"So now you know. About Saiyans and your true heritage. But there are many things I need to clear up, both about you and your father."

All of my doubts suddenly resurfaced, but this time I knew all of them would be answered. I wasn't going to let anything take away what was right in front of me, and I had never been more determined to learn about my father.

"Your father's name was Asperus, and he was a Saiyan that had come here to Earth to recover from some serious injuries he had acquired while conquering a nearby planet. His space pod crash-landed a few yards away from the lake house I lived in. That day my best friend Lily and I had planned to have a picnic there, but our plans were interrupted when we heard a loud crash followed by a pained cry. We rushed out to see what had happened, only to find a giant hole in the earth. After taking Asperus out of the space pod and carefully placing him on my bed, we treated his injuries and asked him where he had come from and how he had gotten here. He explained everything to us, even the part about him being Saiyan. It was hard not to believe him since he had been flying in a space pod, but there was one thing Lily and I were confused about; the fact that he had told us the Saiyan race was full of fierce, heartless warriors that had no mercy when he seemed gentle and caring. His answer to our question was that he had hit his head when he was a small boy and lost his natural ferocity, as did apparently all Saiyans that suffered severe had injuries. His condition had been worse than we thought, and he took months to fully recover. During those months, Lily and I cared for him, tending to his every wound. Eventually he fell in love with Lily, and when he was able to walk again he spent every second of every day with her. She was fascinated with him, gushing over him every time she had the chance. They got married a month later, happier then I'd ever seen either of them. It was as if Asperus had forgotten all about his own world and moved on, never looking back. A couple of months after their wedding Lily found out she was pregnant, making Asperus the happiest man alive." She paused, as if expecting me to attack her at any given moment.

Realization slowly sunk in as I processed what she had just told me. My father had married another woman named Lily, who also happened to be my mother's best friend. They had had a baby together.

"That baby was you," she finished, her voice soft. It seemed as if a thousand pounds had been lifted off her shoulders in telling me this, her eyes filed with emotion.

No. That was impossible, my mother was named Kana, and she was sitting right beside me. But as I continued to think, doubts began to fire at me from every direction. She had lied about many things, how was I supposed to know of she hadn't lied about being my mother too? It was no wonder there was no resemblance between us whatsoever. I had always thought it was just because I had taken more to my father, but even that was a lie. Suddenly I began to doubt everything that I had ever known. Who knows what else she had lied to me about?

"So that's just it, my entire life is a lie now? I've been alive for seventeen years and you just now decide to tell me that you're not really my mother? How can you even live with yourself! And don't even bother giving me another stupid excuse about waiting for the right time to tell me because that was years ago!" I cried, on the verge of tears. What had to done to deserve all of this?

"Mae, I meant to tell you, I really did, but as you grew older it got harder and harder for me to come up with the right words to tell you, and I never got the courage to tell you until now. Even if I'm not your real mother I still love you as if you were my own daughter, whether you choose to believe me or not. I know that I have lied about a great amount of things, but trust me when I say I was going to tell you someday even if all of this didn't happen. I understand if you don't ever want to see my fave again, nut just hear me out for now. There are still many things I haven't told you."

She was right of course. I didn't want to see her face, I wanted to leave and get as far away from this woman as I could, but there were too many questions left unanswered, so I stayed.

"Fine, but don't expect to ever see me again after all of this is over," I spat, letting her finish, knowing she was the only person that could tell me.

"Thank you. As I was saying, both of your parents were ecstatic when they found out about you. They were literally counting down the days until the doctor said you were supposed to be born. I had known Lily since we were kids, which also meant we knew everything about each other. She had always dreamed of having a big happy family with a husband that would cherish both her and her children, and Asperus was the perfect description of such a man. Your mother had been a beautiful woman, with the same fire red hair as you and soft blue eyes that seemed to have a life of their own with their ocean-like swirls. It was no wonder your father fell for her so quickly, she was a beautiful on the inside and out. The day before your birth, Lily and I had been picking flowers to decorate the house for your arrival. She was bending down to pick up the loveliest pink rose I had ever seen when she let out a pained cry. It turned out her water had broken, and you were coming fast. I screamed for your father to come and help her, but he was too deep in the woods to hear me. I still wonder to this day how I somehow managed to half-carry, half-drag her to the car and drive her all the way to the nearest hospital. As soon as I was able to contact him, I told Asperus about you and Lily. He arrived an hour before your birth, and that's when your parents decided to name you Mae. Your father gave you a Saiyan middle name, Celeria, in honor of his race, despite the fact that he didn't agree with what they did. But as soon as you were close to being born, there were some complications. Your mother's body wasn't resistant enough, and she died while giving birth to you. It broke your father into pieces, knowing his true love was dead. I had to take you in and care for you for two weeks until Asperus finally returned. He took one look at you and fell apart on tShe spot, claiming that you looked so much like your mother. He took you in his arms and promised to give you all the love his heart was still capable of since you were the last piece of her he had. The years went by and we agreed to pretend to be married for your sake. Then, a few months after your seventh birthday, your father received a transmission from some of Frieza's men. He never told me what it was about, only that if he didn't leave immediately the whole earth was going to be jeopardized. After saying goodbye to the both of us, he took off in his space pod and never returned. Just before leaving, he told me to protect you with my life, and that's exactly what I've done for the past ten years," she said, her expression pleading.

So my real mother hadn't abandoned me like I'd first thought, she'd died giving birth to me. And I had no way of knowing what had become of my father. An exited shiver ran down my spine at the thought that he might still be alive somewhere. But that didn't change the fact that my life was twisted and crazy. Just an hour ago I had been sure my mother still lived here with me on earth and that my father was dead, and now I wasn't sure about either of them. My life was such a mess.

"I need time to sort all of this out," I said, standing up and heading toward one of the many rooms in Dende's palace. I didn't know how long it would take, but I was dead set on figuring out what was true and what was false. And that started with the fact that my real mother's name was Lily, and she was dead.

Bulma's voice broke my deep concentration, snapping me back into reality. "Mae, Mae! Snap out of it, Mr. Popo has cooked something up for us and if you don't come right now it'll get cold," she informed me, gesturing for me to get up.

"I'm not hungry," I replied flatly, returning my face to a lone window I had been staring out at during my thought process.

"Come on Mae, don't be so down, I'm sure all of this will blow over soon."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were the one that found out your entire life was a lie," I said coldly, not in the mood to talk to anyone. This wasn't exactly the best day of my life.

"I'll still have Mr. Pop serve a plate for you. We'll be outside if you need us," she said anyway, unaffected by my dark manner.

I had been set on not going, but soon my stomach began rumbling uncontrollably with hunger and I couldn't resist. Throughout the whole meal I avoided making eye contact anybody and sat quietly. Meaning to return to my post at the window when my plans were interrupted by the arrival of Goku, Krillin, Goten, and Trunks.

Everyone rushed over to greet them, while I barley had the energy to walk in their direction. My eyebrows creased in confusion when I realized Gohan and Grand Kai were not with them. Suspicion began to run through my mind as I neared the two men. When Krillin saw that I was approaching them he turned into a nervous wreck, seemingly begging for something. A sick feeling began blossoming in the pit of my stomach, something told me they were keeping something important from everyone.

"I know something's wrong, and I want answers now. What happened that's making you so nervous?" I demanded, sick of having to wait for all the answers I needed that day.

"G-Go on Goku, she's asking you a question," Krillin said, shoving Goku in front of him.

At that point pur conversation had attracted almost everyone's attention, and they all started asking questions at once. "Wait! One question at a time guys! I have some news that you won't want to hear, but it would be unfair of me not to tell you. Gohan and Vegeta lost their lives during the fight with Majin Buu, I'm sorry to say," he revealed, his face more serious then I'd ever seen it.

A loud cry of grief and disbelief came from Bulma right after Goku finished speaking, followed by choked sobs. ChiChi fainted at the news, falling on the ground only to be picked up by her father.

I wish that my reaction had been so simple, so reflexive. But it wasn't. Even if I took all the pain I had ever felt and multiplied it with all the pain the entire planet had felt I wouldn't have come close to this. I didn't cry, I didn't scream, I didn't even move. I stood as still as a statue, watching the whole world revolve without me. A numb feeling overcame my entire body, dragging me down with its potency. Gohan wasn't dead, he couldn't be. Not the love of my life, my best friend, and the only thing that kept me together. He couldn't be dead, has just couldn't be. But no matter how much I searched for his energy signal, I couldn't find it. Somehow I managed to walk to the nearest room and slump down against a wall, and that's when the pain hit.

It was so strong it had me on the floor gasping for air in two seconds flat. It was like a dark flame, spreading over my entire body, saving my heart for last. It tore at it so hard I couldn't breathe for a couple of minutes. I had never felt so completely and utterly destroyed before, so crippled and dead inside. Gohan had been the center of my universe, the source of my happiness and joy. He was the only person that had ever understood me, no matter the situation. But now he was gone, and there was nothing I could do to be with him again.

I heard distant voices calling out to me, but their words were garbled and unclear as more and more pain ripped through my body. Eventually the only thing I felt was pain, but I felt as if I deserved it because his death had been my fault. If I would've been more defiant and gone with him, I could've helped him out, even if my power was nothing compared to his. So I sat there and let my heart be torn into pieces over and over aagain.

**This chapter was definitely one of the most emotion-filled things I've ever written, so I hope I didn't come off as corny. Sorry for the short chapter but I promise to make it up in the next update! School has being sucking the life out of me lately with so many projects (not to mention I've been taking finals this entire week:/). Thanks for the continued support and don't forget to a highly appreciated review!**


	15. Chapter 15

I don't know how much time passed before Bulma entered the room and laid a blanket on me, but I barley noticed. The only thing my mind was able to process was this simple sentence; Gohan was dead. Yet, however clear that may have been to another person, I couldn't bring myself to believe that small piece of information. Memories of his gentle smile and kind heart echoed in my head, each new image bringing on a new level of pain. Even when I was sure it couldn't get any worse, bursts of searing pain shot throughout my body. It took all I had not to cry out, and even more to try and keep my face emotionless.

I hated the looks of pity everyone kept giving me, like they understood what I was going through. They had no idea. This world of pain I was going through was destroying me, slowly peeling away at my heart with every passing second. I didn't know how much more of it I could take before it killed me, but I could feel my soul slipping away quickly. If someone had told me that it was possible to die of grief a day ago I would've laughed in their face, but now as I experienced true grief, I knew it was definitely possible.

My body was curled up in a ball against a corner, becoming increasingly sore from not having moved an inch for hours. I couldn't care less though. If it was up to me I would've chosen to die right then and there, but Kami obviously had other plans for me.

As soon as I heard the first scream my legs reacted automatically, seemingly having a mind of there own as they rushed me outside. Upon laying eyes on Buu my brain began to function again, my senses fully reawakening

"You... prepare to die Majin Buu. Killing Gohan was the worst mistake you could've committed, and now I will take my revenge!" I cried, my voice dripping with hate as my ki roared to life, the power rocketing through me so quickly I almost lost my balance as my body coiled to attack. A growl ripped through my throat as I watched the pink monster's lips curl up in amusement, daring me to come at him. But before I could, something hit the back of my neck, and the world turned black as I hit the floor.

/

"Mae come on, please tell me you're going to be alright, wake up!" a faint voice pleaded, it's owner shaking my shoulders gently. What had happened? The last thing I remembered was going Super and then everything had become pitch black. And Buu! He was still at the lookout! I had to do something, I wasn't just going to let him get away with what he'd done to Gohan!

Jumping into the air without a second thought, I quickly realized it wasn't a very good idea to make sudden movements shortly after being knocked out and fell to the floor, hitting the ground hard. Hurried footsteps rushed to my side, accompanied by worried glances from my "mother" and Bulma.

"Oh darling, are you hurt? Did you break something?" she asked, her hands hovering over me, unsure of whether to touch me or not. Of course I didn't blame her for her worry, she had only been raising me from the day I was born, but I couldn't help getting a sense of falseness from her actions. It was only natural that I questioned her every move now that I knew she had lied to me about practically everything that was of any significance in my life.

"Relax, it was just a fall, I think I'll live," I mumbled in annoyance. It was just a matter of time before the pain came back at full force, and I didn't want them to be fawning over me when it did. I quickly stood up and pushed their arms away, coming to an abrupt halt when I remembered Majin Buu was still there.

"Where is that disgusting pink freak?" I demanded, anger washing over me once again. I was tired of people constantly getting in my way when I wanted revenge, but this time I wasn't going to let anyone stop me. "Well?" I was getting impatient, my hands curling into fists at my sides.

"He's right outside, just don't go doing anything too rash unless you want Piccolo knocking you unconscious again," Bulma answered hesitantly, knowing perfectly well what I intended to do.

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid I can't promise you that, he's done too much harm and I have to make him pay," I said, adamant in my decision to go after Buu. It didn't matter if I did end up dead, I couldn't just stand around and let him get away with all he'd done. I had just begun making my way to the door when I was pulled back from behind, not at all surprised to see it was the woman whom I'd once thought to be my mother.

"Mae please don't go, you're just going to end up getting yourself killed! If Gohan was here right now, do you think he'd want that for you? He went out there and died for the sake of the planet, he did it all for you and everyone else he loved. You have to understand that if you go and die right now then all his efforts will have been in vain!" she cried, barring my way to the door. As if that made any difference. I could easily shove her aside and continue on, but I decided to make one last attempt at getting her to understand my position.

I smiled sadly and put my hand on her shoulder, taking one last look at her shocking blue eyes, the only eyes that had always been there for me, even if they had deceived me beyond the point of what was forgivable. "Now that he's gone I don't care whether I live or die, all that matters is that I avenge him, even if it means death. In fact, I welcome it because it's my only escape of this pain that's slowly tearing me apart, and it's the only way I'll be able to return to him. The only difference is that we'll be together for all of eternity." With sad eyes I brought my hand down into her abdomen, gently laying her unconscious body on the stone floor.

"Take care of her for me Bulma," I whispered just high enough for her to hear. Without another word I exited the palace, my pace quickening when I spotted the others. I gasped in surprise when I saw that Buu was among them, but all he was doing was sitting on the edge of the lookout staring out into the blue sky. No one seemed to really pay much attention to him, they were all too busy talking amongst themselves. They hadn't even noticed my arrival on the scene.

I ran up to a worried looking Piccolo, a demanding look on my face as I approached the green fighter. "What the hell is going on here? How could you guys just stand around when that monstrosity is sitting right under your noses?" I asked, my voice shaking with disgust. Didn't they care at all about what that thing had done to Gohan? Some friends they were.

"What? Who the hell gave you the right to talk to us like that? You have no idea what's going on do you? You're completely clueless! I ought to.."

"Stop it! That's enough Piccolo! Can't you see this poor girl has suffered enough already? She doesn't need you lecturing her right now, what she needs is for us to tell her what's happened during the time she was out," Krillin cut in, his expression warning him not to go any further. He was right though. I wanted to know exactly what was going on, and fast.

"Sorry about that Mae, but Piccolo's got a lot on his back right now and it's not exactly the best time to test his patience. I'll fill you in on all that's happened," he said, pointing at a stone bench near the entrance of the palace. "Let's go over there so he can have some time to think things over." I nodded curtly and followed the short man to the bench, anxious to learn about the events that had taken place while I was knocked out.

/

"So, Goku's gone again huh? He had it coming, the idiot shouldn't have taken things so far with Buu," I sighed, staring off into the horizon. I'd never had time to look out into the sky from there before, so I'd never realized how truly beautiful the view was. How ironic that I finally saw it when there was a possibility the earth would be gone by the next day.

"I guess he did, didn't he? Well, he's not the only one. All the earth's inhabitants have been wiped out except for everyone who was up here on the lookout, which doesn't make much of a difference. Let's just hope we survive through this so we can use the dragonballs to restore everyone."

"W-Wait a minute! Gohan hasn't been brought back with the dargonballs yet has he? There's still a chance we can bring him back!" I exclaimed, my hands trembling with newfound hope. Through all that had happened that day I had had forgotten about the dragonballs! "This is amazing Krillin, we really can bring him back! I can't tell you how grateful I am for your reminder!" Not bothering to let him respond I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed as hard as I could, forgetting for a moment that I was much stronger than him and probably hurting him. "Oh, sorry about that, I don't know my own strength!" After quickly pulling away from the now breathless man, I met this gaze and gave him the best smile I could manage at the moment. Despite knowing I'd soon be with him again, the fact that Gohan was still dead kept the pain coursing through my veins, even though it had become significantly less potent.

"No worries, I'm fine," he assured in between gulps of air, the whole sight making me giggle. I began to think Krillin and I were going to get along just fine if we lived through this. "Just make sure the next time you want to give me a bone-crushing hug I have a protective barrier around my body." His breathy statement made me giggle louder, earning confused looks from the others. Whoops. I guess they thought I was going crazy now since just a few moments ago I had been too crippled with grief to move and now I was laughing as if I didn't have a care in the world.

/

Only a few minutes had passed since Piccolo had lead Majin Buu to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber where Goten and Trunks were training, and already the nerves were beginning to eat away at me. I was afraid for both of their lives, and I was driving myself crazy with hope that we hadn't made a mistake in pinning the fate of the earth on the hands of two children.

"Oh, I hope nothing's happened to my baby boy in there," Bulma said worriedly, her face creased with anxiety. "If I have to wait any longer I'll simply explode!"

"Relax Bulma, they've got it under control. Those two kids are the sons of the greatest warriors to have ever lived, I have complete faith in them," Master Roshi said in reassurance, softly patting her back.

"That's right! If we just sit around like this and keep doubting them, then what does that make us? I know they'll come through for us in the end, they just have to. I know I've only known those boys for a small amount of time, but even I know that they're special and that they won't let us down no matter what!" I agreed, taking Bulma's hand firmly in my own. "They're gonna be alright." She nodded once, a small smile appearing on her red lips.

A loud scream broke throughout the entire lookout just before she could say something, the noise so loud it shook the whole palace. Little Marron's eyes grew wide at the terrifying yell, her features quickly turning into those of someone that was utterly frightened. "What is that Mommy?" she cried, her tiny hands clutching onto her mother's jeans as tightly as they could.

"I- I don't know," 18 replied, looking just as alarmed as I felt. Her gaze then turned to Krillin, who's skin pallor had turned frighteningly pale, even for him.

"Is-Is it who I think it is?" he asked, clearly shocked at the reappearance of the pink fiend. Majin Buu had escaped from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and he was very much alive.

"No! Buu want candy! Buu's gonna eat!" he roared from somewhere outside. He wasn't visible from where we were standing, and just hearing him yell with such fury made my skin crawl.

"What was that about the boys not failing us?" Yamcha asked rhetorically, backing up into the wall. "Now what are we supposed to do? None of us are nearly powerful enough to even slow him down!"

"You guys go hide somewhere, I'll keep him away for as long as I can," Krillin commanded, rising into the air. "Protect our daughter 18." With that he flew out to meet Buu, looking back one last time as he headed toward his doom.

"No Krillin! Stop! You know I'm stronger than you, I can hold him off longer," I yelled, running after him despite knowing I was too late. It was amazing how things could change so quickly. One second I had everyone convinced we'd walk out of here alive and the next Buu came rampaging through from out of thin air.

"No Mae, it's too late to stop him, we have to get moving!" Dende called from the top of a staircase, waving me over with his hand. I complied reluctantly and flew after him, realizing that everyone else had dispersed in different directions, Bulma and Kana huddled together as they ran. One by one I watched everyone turn into chocolate as if it was being done in slow motion, awaiting the moment in which I would suffer the same fate. But just before the magical pink ray could touch me, I was thrown over the edge of the lookout along with a startled looking Dende. The last thing I saw before plunging into the world below was Mr. Popo's frantic face yelling at me to protect Dende with my life, for he was the planet's last hope.

**Yes a new chapter finally! My sincerest apologies to all the people I kept waiting, I guess I really don't have an excuse this time :/. The new chapter will be up soon though, I'm not finished with this story yet! Until next time, by my wonderful readers!**


	16. Chapter 16

Time seemed to slow down as I fell through the sky, my thoughts in complete chaos. Too much had happened in too little time, and all the new information flooding into my brain was starting to take its toll. My mind had never felt so clouded and confused. It took me a full eight seconds to realize I was plunging to my death, and a couple more to regain sense and begin flying.

It was at that moment that I spotted Dende hovering not too far from my current location, and -remembering Mr. Popo's flustered request- I hurried to catch up with him.

"Dende! I'm over here!" I called, waving my arms so he could see me.

"Mae! I'm so glad you're okay!" he said, looking as astonished as I felt. Somehow seeing his familiar face gave me a sense of hope, a feeling of reassurance. As long as he was alive everyone that had been killed could be brought back to life. The earth's guardian was finally going to serve his purpose and protect the planet he loved.

"Mr. Popo, Krillin, Yamcha; they're gone, aren't they," he murmured, looking down in sadness.

"I'm afraid so," I answered quietly, moving my gaze the the once beautiful lookout. Even from far below I could see that the place was completely ruined; reduced to nothing but a pile of stone. I didn't want to think about the fact that hidden somewhere among the rubble was the monster that had caused all of this to happen. The monster that had killed but two of the entire planet's population.

"I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around all of this, you know? It's just so hard to believe that one being could've done so much damage in one day, it's unheard of. And yet, despite the odds, we're still standing here completely unharmed. Why us? Why me? There were so many innocent lives that could've been the ones to survive, and yet, fate decided to make it us. I'm probably the worst guardian ever."

I shook my head and took his hand, wondering how he'd come to think of himself like that. The act of surviving alone was great enough proof that he was special, not to mention the fact that without him, the earth would've been doomed. "No Dende, that's not true. You deserve a lot more credit than that. You're the planet's final hope of survival, you're it's guardian," I said insistently. "Now come on, we don't want Majin Buu to find us."

Diving into the mountainous terrain below, I quickly looked over my shoulder to make sure Dende was following, and to my relief, he was. It hadn't occurred to me that as long as we were on Earth, we were still both in mortal danger. Even if Buu didn't find us, there was still the highly likely possibility that he would blow up the entire planet before leaving, which would render Mr. Popo's sacrifice useless. I had to figure out a plan that would keep us alive, and fast.

I touched down on a rocky valley hidden in between to large mountains. It wasn't exactly the best hideout, but it would have to do. I found it hard to think while flying. My mind was still a mess.

"Try to lay low here for now, I'm gonna try to figure out a plan before the pink freak finds us," I instructed, finding a flat rock to sit on and using my knees to prop up my head. I was feeling exhausted from crying so much earlier and having to live through this horrible nightmare. I couldn't wait until it was over. But, of course, nothing is that simple.

"Alright, I'll try and see if I can sense anyone else out here," he nodded in compliance. I watched as his green face twisted in concentration while he searched for any signs of life. "This would be much easier if we were still on the lookout. Everything's so Mich easier tso find from there." Concentrated harder, he paused for a while, seemingly feeling something. "I-I think someone's out there!"

"Are you sure it's not Buu?" I asked, not wanting to get my hopes up for fear of being mistaken.

"No, his ki is purely evil, the energy I'm sensing is good," he confirmed, a slow smile appearing on his face. "I think it's Gotenks and Piccolo!" His smile widening as he opened his eyes. "It has to be them!"

It was more than I had dared hope for. The most I had expected was one, and we had managed to find three! Relief flooded over me at the realization that Goten and Trunks were still alive, still fighting. They were still fighting. Oh no.

"We have to go help them, right now!" I cried, not bothering to wait for an answer before snatching him up and taking off. This was bad. If Buu was strong enough to break the barrier between one dimension to the other, than those boys had no chance of defeating him.

"Wait, hold on Mae! We can't just move in head-on without knowing the situation! Just let me figure out how they're doing and then we'll decide whether or not to intervene. You know you're not strong enough to defeat him," Dende reasoned, trying his best to get me to slow down with unwanted results. Every inch of my consciousness screamed at me to ignore his protests and keep going, but deep inside my heart I knew he was right. After all, they had managed to stay alive this long, so they couldn't be having to much trouble in fighting him.

Muttering a curse under my breath, I came to a dead stop, the sudden change in movement throwing us forward into a scraggly bush.

"Next time you want to slam on the brakes while flying at full speed, give me a warning," Dende huffed, dusting himself off after removing a branch from his sleeve.

"Sorry about that."

"Well what's done is done. Now keep quiet so I can concentrate."

The three seconds it took him to determine how the fight was going were the longest of my life. I practically jumped on top of him when he finally reopened his eyes, demanding he tell me how they were. I hated waiting on other people.

"It looks like they've got the upper hand for the moment," he nodded, crying out when I crushed him in an embrace.

"Thank goodness they're alright! Dende you have to show me where they are, I have to see what's happening!"

"Okay okay! It's just that we're going to have to suppress our ki or else we're going to risk getting spotted," he warned, a wary look in his eyes. "But that also means we can't fly, so we're going to have to run there as fast as we can. The area they're fighting in isn't too far away. Five miles at most."

"Alright you got it lets go!" I replied hurriedly, once again plucking him up and setting him on my back, running faster than I had ever thought possible. I was so happy that we weren't alone, that there were still others alive. There was no way Buu would take them away from me too.

"They're right up ahead!" Dende said just as I caught sight of them. Goten and Trunks were still fused together, and Piccolo was keeping his distance from the battle, giving Gotenks the space to fight. But no matter how hard I looked, Buu was nowhere to be found.

Hiding behind a jagged boulder, I cleaned my neck to get a better view, hut there was still no Majin Buu in sight. All that was visible was a giant hole sticking up in the desert floor and a few tumbleweeds.

"Hey Dende, where's Buu?" I asked, turning back to study the young guardian's face. He didn't seem to be as confused as I was, his gaze fixed on the hole.

"He's in there. Gotenks made a very powerful attack while we were on our way here, but he's still alive. By the way, am I seeing things or is Gotenks really a Super Saiyan 3?"

I looked closer at the fused boy, gasping when I realized he was right. His hair was much longer, and his ki had fluctuated immensely. But how was that even possible? The only other person that had been able to reach that level was Goku, and he was much older than both of them! Goten and Trunks were definitely stronger than I'd thought, but what did I expect from the sons of the two most legendary warriors of all time?

"They're absolutely amazing! I have no doubt they'll grow up to be even stronger than their fathers," I said proudly, still gawking at them in wonder. Before I could say anything else, Buu came shooting out of the crater sized hole, fury written across his entire face. Gotenks was about to make another attack when he was suddenly engulfed in a bright light. What came after made my heart plunge to my stomach. Their time had run out, and the fusion was over. They separated.

"No-"

"Shh! We can't let him know we're here! I know this is bad, but believe me, it'll only get worse if he finds us," Dende whispered, clamping a hand over my mouth to prevent me from yelling. What was the point? Trunks and Goten were in no shape to fight the pink monster without fusion, and judging by the very pissed off look on his face, he wasn't about to kill them without making them suffer.

I managed to wrestle myself free from Dende's grasp and was about to head straight for that wretch when the most impossible, unimaginable thing happened. I rubbed my eyes to make sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me, but after several tries I realized I wasn't hallucinating. Standing there in front of Majin Buu, was the angel I thought I'd never see again.

**Sorry to leave you guys hanging, but I had to do something that would leave you wanting more ;) . After not updating for a while I kinda forgot how fun it is to write, and I can't wait to do more. Until next time, good day mates!**


	17. Chapter 17

Standing only a few feet from my position behind the rock was a confident looking Gohan. A strange kind of expression was on his face, a look somewhere in between calm and completely furious. He was wearing an orange gi identical to his father's, making me realize just how much he looked like him.

My heart screamed at me to run out and embrace him in a bone-crushing hug, but what little sense of sanity I had been able to retain kept me at bay. If I went out there now I would only end up blowing our cover and putting Dende in danger, which was not something I wanted to do.

"D-Dende, do you see him too?" I whispered, clutching my chest when he gave a slow nod. Now I knew I wasn't just seeing things, and that just made my heart beat faster. A sudden sense of hope that had long since abandoned me slowly worked its way into my system. His presence was enough to erase all of my fears because I knew as long as the people he cared about were under his protection, he would never let them be harmed.

"I don't know how this is possible, his presence disappeared from earth after his confrontation with Buu, I'm sure of it. But then again he is Goku's son, and that man has a reputation for being unpredictable," Dende said, muttering more to himself than me.

"So hotshot, you wanna fight Majin Buu?" I whirled around as I heard the pink monster speak, not wanting to miss a word.

"Fight you? No, I wanna kill you." Gohan's somewhat arrogant response caught me a bit off guard, I'd never heard him speak to anyone like that before. It just wasn't in his nature. Then again, what was normal about this bizarre nightmare?

"I'll tear you apart you little punk!" Buu roared, charging wildly at his opponent. Smirk widening, Gohan simply side-stepped and easily avoided the pink freak's attack, the amusement playing on his features growing.

"You'll never be able to touch me if that's the best you've got," he taunted, suddenly looking bored. "You're even weaker than I thought."

This new cocky Gohan was beginning to scare me a little, because I knew from experience that arrogance could quickly lead to defeat, and we couldn't afford to lose him again.

"Dende, I think I should come out and take the kids to a safer place, I'm not feeling very good about this anymore."

"No way, if you reveal yourself now he'll know I'm here!" he said, giving me a warning look. "I know your true intentions are to talk him into speeding things up here, but you'll just be putting yourself at risk and giving Gohan another person he has to worry about. Trust me, our best option right now is to lie low until things clear up here. I know Gohan's overconfidence is making you uncomfortable, but it'll all work out in the end, I promise."

I gave him a long look as I contemplated his advice, my mind stuck in a stalemate. If I rushed out now there was a possibility I could talk some sense into Gohan, but on the other hand, there was also a possibility that Buu would come after me and use me as a hostage. Was I ready to take such a risk? If I waited any longer Buu could somehow transform into a more powerful version of himself and it would all be over. I couldn't let that happen.

"Sorry Dende, I hope someday you can forgive me," I said apologetically, launching myself into the air before he could protest. My sudden movement begin the boulder quickly earned the attention of both of the combatants, cutting Buu off mid-sentence.

"Mae?! H-How... I t-thought you were gone!" a bewildered Gohan stuttered, a look of both complete shock and utter elation overcoming his features. I wanted so badly to just snatch him up and fly away from this huge mess, but of course, I couldn't. I steeled myself and forced my mind to stay on track, focusing on the task at hand. There would be plenty of time to be alone with him later.

"Funny, I could say the same. What's gotten into you? Quit acting so arrogant and finish him off already, he's done enough damage to this planet as it is!" I ordered, my almost angry tone catching me off guard. Why was I talking like everything was his fault? He hadn't done anything wrong. A small part of my brain answered my question, although I was quick to dismiss it. I was mad at him for making me go through worse torture than hell and then having come out of nowhere claiming he'd been alive the whole time.

The bewildered look never left his eyes as he took in what I said. "S-Sorry, I guess I let all my new power get to my head," he said, averting my gaze.

"And that's why your mistake is gonna cost both of you your lives," Buu snarled, a maniacal laugh erupting from his throat as he lifted his hand, moving something behind us. I turned around just in time to see Gohan snatch Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo up into the air, barley evading three blobs of pink ooze. I had no idea how he'd gotten to tahem so fast, never mind how he'd been able to carry all three of them up before the blobs could encase them.

"Where the hell did those come from?" I asked no one in particular, spotting movement behind me with my peripheral vision. I shot up into the air before a fourth blob could get to me, my eyebrows rising in surprise at the sneak attack. Did he do that while Gohan and I were talking?

Idiot. We dropped our guard for one second, and the creep wasted no time in taking full advantage of the situation. If Gohan hadn't reacted so quickly we may have been in much worse conditions.

"Mae, are you alright? Did he hurt you?" a soft voice asked from behind, teleporting me behind a rock along with Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo.

"No, missed by a few inches. No harm done," I replied, flustered by the sudden closeness of our bodies.

"Good. That bastard is gonna get his ass handed to him," Gohan seethed, his fist clenching against the orange fabric of his gi. "I can't believe I was so stupid, I should've never left my guard down."

"Just be glad you reacted when you did, something a lot worse could've happened," Piccolo pointed out, trying his best to comfort the teenage boy. "We all make mistakes Gohan, you should know that by now."

"That's beside the point, what I did is unforgivable. And you were right Mae, it was stupid of me to let my confidence get the better of me. I'm sorry. I have to go, Buu could be onto our location any second now," he said insistently, refusing to escape any blame.

Before he could leave though, I pressed my lips to his for the briefest of moments and whispered,"I'm sorry too." He gave me a longing stare before taking off into the sky, leaving us to watch from below. I didn't know until then how much I'd longed for feel I g of his lips brushing on mine, and for a few seconds all I could do was stand frozen and watch the rest of the events play out.

I snapped out of the euphoria caused by the kiss in time to watch Gohan deliver the final blow. The immense amount of energy radiating from his Kamehameha wave was enough to knock me off my feet. With a huge blast that took out most of the rocky landscape, Gohan defeated the foe that had devastated the planet, his Kamehameha swallowing up the very essence of the nightmarish creature that was no more.

/

It had taken a while to finally get the Earth back up on its feet again, but with the help of Shenron and the planet Namek's dragon balls, everything was finally back to normal. Thanks to Porunga the memory of Buu and Babidi had been erased from the minds of every person on the planet, save me and the Z Warriors of course. After the fight with Buu we had been pleasantly surprised to find that the Old Kai had been generous enough to give Goku his life as a reward for saving the world. I had even made up with Kana, and decided to return to referring to her as my mother. After all, she was the only one that had been there to take care of me, and I loved her as much as she loved me.

/

"Mom! Cut it out already, don't you ever get tired of embarrassing me?"

"Hey it was an honest question! I mean after all you two have been through together one would think you'd finally pop the question! If you don't claim her now someone else is going to take her, she's much too beautiful to wait around for you all her life."

I laughed as Gohan's face went from a light pink to crimson in about two seconds. I had come over to help set up for a dinner party that the whole gang had been invited to, and it hadn't taken ChiChi very long to once again ask Gohan of we were getting married.

"Don't worry ChiChi, I wouldn't dream of spending the rest of my life with anyone else," I said reassuringly, stirring a pot of soup that was almost finished cooking.

"Well that's good to know because I doubt Gohan would ever find someone as sweet and beautiful as you are Mae," she sighed, rolling her eyes at her son's burning face.

"Can we please stop having this conversation, it's getting kinda weird," he pleaded, eyeing his mother nervously.

"Ok then, how about you come try out this soup for me and then we can check on Goten," I said, gesturing toward the steaming pot of food.

His face instantly lit up. "Alright, food!" He was at my side before he even finished his sentence, wrapping his arms around my waist. "You wouldn't mind giving the love of your life a bowl of that delicious soup, would you?" His breath tickled my ear as he spoke, sending shivers down my spine. I knew what he was playing at, and I wasn't about to let him coax me into doing something that could potentially have me whacked on the side of the head with a frying pan.

"Hmm sorry, put your tricks don't work on me anymore," informed him, pushing his hands from my waist. "You're gonna have to do a lot better than that in order to make me give in to you're desires." Smirking in satisfaction at his disgruntled pout, I turned back to the pot and continued stirring.

Rolling my eyes playfully as I watched him switch tactics from the corner of my eye, I stuck a spoonful of soup into his descending lips. Freezing stiffly in surprise, it took him a few moments to realize the object in his mouth contained food, and he slumped the contents happily.

"Wow, this is amazing! Were'd you learn to cook like that?" he asked, giving me a look of awe that made me smile.

"A lady's got to know things like this, it's essential to our future," I shrugged, enjoying the tormented expression on his face as he stared longingly at the pot. "Can't you wait for half an hour more? It's almost time for everyone to arrive."

"No! I'm starving! Just one more taste?" Unfortunately his mother came into the kitchen just as he said this, earning Gohan a lecture about manners and good bang on the heading with ChiChi's favorite frying pan.

/

The dinner was a huge success, not a single drop of food was left afterwards. We'd even invited Videl and her father since she had sought me out at school a few days before and apologized for being so bitchy to me. I forgave her and ever since then we had gotten along pretty well. It turned out we actually had a lot of things in common, other than finding Gohan attractive that is.

The nightmare with Majin Buu was finally over, and I finally was able to relax and return to my normal life. That is if you count being an alien from another planet and having out of the ordinary combat skills normal.

**Now that the whole Buu mess is out of the way, what challenges will Mae have to overcome next? Tune in on the next update to find out! Review! (Yes, even my silent readers that are either too lazy to review or think they don't have anything to say. You do! Even if it's just a 'good job' or 'nice update' I still appreciate 'em!)**


	18. Chapter 18

"What! There is no way I'm going to put on that ridiculous costume, and there's no amount of begging that will change my mind!"

"Oh come on, it's not that bad! It's almost exactly like mine and you said you like it!"

"No! I never said I wanted to do this anyway, Gohan! And when I said I liked your Saiyaman costume I lied to spare your feelings. It wasn't like you would've listened to me anyway, everyone else told you it was terrible and you just shook them off."

I rolled my eyes as he pouted and continued to plead with me, refusing to give in. It had been a few weeks since Buu was defeated, and my life was just beginning to return to normal. That is, until Gohan had asked me if I wanted to join his crime fighting in Satan City. At first it had sounded like a good idea to me so I agreed. But a couple of hours later I had found myself in Capsule Corp. staring at the ugliest costume in the universe. It was just like Gohan's except for the few feminine touches Bulma had added, and that had been enough to get me to realize just how bad an idea this really was.

"Sorry Gohan, but it's not gonna happen. Besides, I'm not cut out to be a superhero, I'd rather just stick to being a normal teenage girl that's about to graduate high school," I said. His pout remained glued in place as his shoulders slumped in defeat, the corners of my mouth rising slightly. He looked so cute when he did that.

"Damn, I really wanted to fight bad guys with you," he grumbled in disappointment.

I laughed and told him that I preferred to just stick with the role of the hero's lovely girlfriend, his expression slightly less disappointed after I kissed his cheek. "We've been through so much together Mae, haven't we?" he said, suddenly serious.

"Yeah, we have." I searched his face for some kind of clue as to where he was going with this, but to no avail. "What's on your mind?" I asked.

"Nothing. I just feel like you're more than just my girlfriend now, you know? The way I feel about you is much stronger than that," he confessed, bringing my face closer to his.

"Y-Your not proposing, are you?" I asked nervously, my heart fluttering.

"N-No of course not!" he cried, baffled. His cheeks turned a deep crimson.

"Oh. Hehe, sorry about that. It kinda sounded like you were," I apologized, wanting to punch myself for my own stupidity. Of course he wasn't proposing, we hadn't even finished high school yet!

It was my turn to blush when I realized we were still only inches apart, his shocked features being replaced by an intense stare. "You're so beautiful Mae. I can't stand it anymore, let me kiss you," he whispered, desperation and need in his voice.

Instead of answering I let my lips take his, instantly feeling warmth flood throughout my body as he quickly dominated the kiss. I shivered as his hands ran circles around my back, pressing myself closer to him in attempt to deepen the kiss. He pushed himself down in the couch and wrapped my legs around either side of his body, his tongue brushing along my bottom lip, begging for entrance.

I let out a small gasp when I felt his hand reach up my shirt and play with my bra strap, taking advantage of the moment and shoving his tongue into my mouth. I fought for control for a bit before quickly giving in as his tongue explored the depths of my mouth, eventually entangling his tongue with mine. Once he unstrapped my bra he quickly turned himself over so he was on top of me, reaching up to remove the only barrier between him and my breasts. Before he could finish a loud cough caused both our heads to shoot up in alarm, finding Bulma standing only a few feet away.

"I've got plenty of rooms in here, you can go have your make out session in one of those. I don't want Trunks or some other poor soul to walk in and see you guys too," she informed us, raising a brow. A small smile crept up her lips as she watched us hurriedly detangle ourselves from each other, blushing furiously. "You two remind me of when I was young and in love. I was always bringing boys home and getting caught in the act by my mother, which was embarrassing as hell at the time, you know how she can get."

Her smile grew as we stood silently on the side of the couch, desperately trying to fix our clothes in order to look more presentable. "You're lucky I'm not at all like my mother or else I would've launched into a long boring speech about safety before sex," she continued, smirking when my face turned ten different shades of red. I'd have to remember to get her back for this one day, I hadn't felt this embarrassed since I sat on a cup of chocolate pudding in the 1st grade and everyone thought I'd pooped in my pants.

"A-Actually Bulma, I think we'll just leave now," Gohan said before she could embarrass us any further. "Come on Mae, I'll take you home." He quickly took my hand and led me to the door, sending a cursory wave in Bulma's direction and quickly shutting it behind us.

Without a word, we took off into the air and began the trip back to my apartment. I avoided his gaze and trained my eyes on the sky ahead, not quite being able to believe how close we'd come to doing it right there in the Briefs' living room. Pink dusted my cheeks after wondering about how long Bulma had been standing there watching us. We hadn't exactly kept quiet during our time on the couch, and the more I thought about it, the more embarrassed I became.

"I'm sorry about that Mae. It was all my fault, I should've been able to control my impulses better," Gohan apologized, looking deep into my eyes.

I stared at him for a moment before breaking into a smile, giggling as he once again tried to take the entire blame for something we both did. "I'm not mad if that's what you're thinking, I'm just still a bit shaken up from getting interrupted by Bulma, that's all," I said.

"Oh, well that's a relief. I know how you feel, I don't think my blush has faded at all since that moment," he admitted, smiling back. We talked and laughed the whole way back, and when we arrived at my apartment door we kissed goodnight and parted for the evening, leaving a strange twinge of loneliness in my heart. I honestly didn't know how long I could go on loving him like this without doing something about it. I knew that the next day I'd see him at school again just like every other day, but I wanted to be able to wake up to his smiling face and seeing him every single day. I'd just have to wait until that day came.

/

"Keiko, Marissa, it feels like it's been ages since I last saw you two! How was that month-long trip to France? Did you guys miss me as much as I did?" I cried as I saw two of my best friends again for the first time in a month. They'd gone on their little excursion along with the entire volleyball team as a reward from himself for winning the Nationals. As proud of them as I was, I couldn't help but be a little jealous. I'd always wanted to go to France, but thanks to my mother's busy schedule I had never been able to.

"Of course! I'm so glad to be back with you guys!" Marissa beamed, pulling me into a group hug with the entire gang.

"It's a relief to be back here in Japan where I can finally understand what people are saying to me," Keiko sighed dramatically, joining in on our group hug.

"Well I guess now that you two are back our group of friends is finally complete again. You have no idea how painful it was to have to listen to these three idiots argue about who should eat the last chip and only have Mae to talk to about girl stuff," Siri muttered, rolling her eyes at Chris, Gohan, and Jason.

"Hurtful! I'm your boyfriend, you're supposed to love everything about me, even my tendency to get possessive over the final chip," Jason mock pouted, turning his nose up in the air.

"Oh I'll show you hurtful," Siri threatened, knocking him on the side of the head.

"Even when they're in a relationship those two never change," Gohan whispered, leaning in closer to my ear. I nodded in agreement as Siri continued to yell at Jason while chasing him around the entire classroom. Siri had quite the temper, but I adored her and I knew everyone else liked her feisty personality too. It was just kinda part of who she was. It made me sad to think I could never share my deepest secrets with her, like she had with me. Telling her about Saiyans and evil aliens trying to destroy the earth would put her her in danger, and even if I did tell her, I seriously doubted she would believe me.

I was shaken out of my thoughts when the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. I waved goodbye to everyone but Gohan and walked hand-in-hand with him to our 5th period class.

I felt a tap on the back of my head as soon as I sat down, making me jump a little when I realized it was Videl. "Hey Mae! Haven't seen you in a while. What's going on with Gohan, I heard Saiyaman told the press that he was going to add a female partner to his one-man team," she said, expecting me to have already known about it.

"He did what!?"

**Hehehe a cliffie! I thought it was about time I used one of those again. Anyway sorry for the long time it took me to update, you guys must really wanna kill me *hides behind Goku* I guess you could sorta say I'm losing my motivation to continue, but do not fear, I will try my best to go on! It'd be great if I could get more reviews to help keep me going, it'd really help guys! See you next time, review!**


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